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LETTERS  OF 

JAMES    MURRAY 

LOYALIST 


EDITED   BY 

NINA  MOORE  TIFFANY 

ASSISTED    BY 

SUSAN  I.  LESLEY 


PRINTED:  NOT  PUBLISHED 
BOSTON 

1901 


COPYRIGHT 

BY   SUSAN    I.    LESLEY 

I90I 


6& 


TO  ALL  THE   DESCENDANTS   OF 
JAMES  MURRAY 


PEEFACE 

Late  in  the  year  1885  my  uncle,  James  Murray 
Robbins,  died  at  Brush  Hill,  Milton,  the  last  of 
three  generations  of  honorable  men  who  had  owned 
or  occupied  the  estate  for  many  years.  His  wife, 
Frances  Mary  Bobbins,  was  the  daughter  of  Abiel 
Harris,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.  They  lived  together 
most  happily,  from  their  marriage  in  1834,  till  Mrs. 
Robbins's  death  in  1870,  which  was  a  great  grief  to 
him.  But  he  continued  to  live  on  in  the  old  home 
with  his  kindest  of  sisters,  making  many  friends 
happy  by  his  large  hospitality.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  companionable  of  men,  delighting  nieces, 
nephews,  and  young  friends  with  his  stories  of  his 
own  adventures  in  youth,  and  his  reading  and  com- 
mentaries on  what  he  read.  His  wife  was  one  of  the 
early  Abolitionists  and  a  most  earnest  advocate  of 
Emancipation.  She  brought  to  the  house  all  those 
she  loved  best.  For  Garrison,  my  uncle  had  a  great 
reverence  and  admiration,  and  for  Edmund  Quincy, 
Wendell  Phillips,  and  Maria  W.  Chapman  and  her 
sisters,  a  warm  regard,  and  they  soon  became  inti- 


vi  PREFACE 

mate  friends,  in  their  devotion  to  a  great  cause. 
My  uncle  had  the  warmest  sympathy  with  these 
friends,  but  he  had  not  the  ardent  temperament  of 
his  wife,  and  was,  besides,  a  very  hopeful  man  and 
a  thoughtful  reader  of  both  ancient  and  modern 
history.  And  I  think  he  felt  in  the  trend  of 
events  almost  a  certainty  that  slavery  would  be  at 
an  end,  before  his  own  death,  and  he  rejoiced  un- 
speakably that  it  was  so.  But  I  fear  slavery  would 
not  have  ended  had  all  men  been  as  quiet  and  inert 
as  he  was. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Robbins's  death  his  executors  put 
into  my  hands  a  large  box  of  letters  and  papers, 
written  either  by  or  to  his  grandfather,  James 
Murray.  They  had  lain  many  years  untouched  in 
the  garret  at  Brush  Hill.  Finding  that  several  of  the 
descendants  of  my  great-grandfather  would  like  to 
know  more  of  him,  I  began  to  put  the  large  collec- 
tion of  material  in  order  for  examination  and  selec- 
tion. Before  I  had  gone  far  in  that  work  I  was 
compelled  by  ill  health  to  abandon  it.  But  after 
a  long  time  of  seeking,  I  found  a  most  competent 
person  in  Mrs.  Francis  B.  Tiffany,  of  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota, to  take  it  up  and  edit  it.  She  has  done  her 
work  with  great  care,  and  I  owe  her  heartiest  thanks 
for  the  results.  Mrs.  Tiffany's  previous  literary 
work  has  qualified  her  pecuHarly  to  arrange  these 


PREFACE  vii 

scattered  and  fragmentary  materials^  and  her  con- 
necting links  and  footnotes  will  do  much  to  explain 
the  sequence  of  the  letters,  and  sustain  the  interest 
by  giving  them  some  semblance  of  a  narrative. 

The  present  volume  contains  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  letters  which  have  come  down  to  us  through 
the  old  Brush  Hill  garret.  The  task  of  selection 
has  not  been  an  easy  one.  The  editors  had  not 
the  privilege  of  choosing  from  a  complete  corre- 
spondence and  so  making  anything  like  a  symmetri- 
cal biographical  memoir.  Letters  which  must  have 
been  written  concerning  the  important  events  of 
the  Eevolutionary  war  have  disappeared ;  and  nat- 
urally many  of  those  which  have  been  preserved 
were  of  temporary  value  and  significance.  The 
fact  that  there  are  but  few  available  documents 
relating  to  the  Colonial  history  of  North  Carolina 
has  led  to  the  inclusion  of  a  larger  proportion  of 
the  letters  from  that  period  of  James  Murray's  life, 
—  not  for  their  intrinsic  interest,  but  as  a  contribu- 
tion to  the  historical  material  of  the  time. 

The  original  spelling  of  these  letters  has  been 
in  most  instances  carefully  reproduced.  I  remem- 
ber that  some  years  ago,  two  friends,  gentlemen, 
were  looking  over  old  papers,  and  one  said :  "  The 
speUing  is  so  bad,  I  must  think  it  a  sign  of  illit- 
eracy."    "  By  no  means/'  said  the  other.     "  Those 


viii  PREFACE 

writers  happened  to  live  in  a  period  when  orthogra- 
phy was  optionah" 

The  illustrations  given  have  been  collected  from 
various  sources.  The  original  Copley  portrait  of 
James  Murray  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Frank 
Lyman,  but  the  frontispiece  is  from  a  photograph 
of  a  copy  made  by  Margaret  L.  Bush-Brown,  which 
gave  a  clearer  impression  and  is  more  suitable  for  re- 
production in  photogravure.  The  portraits  of  Mrs. 
Inman  and  Dorothy  Forbes  are  from  photographs 
of  the  original  Copleys  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
Revere  and  Forbes  families.  I  am  indebted  to  my 
friend,  Mr.  Bronson  Murray,  of  New  York,  for  the 
portraits  of  James  Murray's  ancestors  and  of  his 
brother,  Dr.  John  Murray. 

A  genealogical  table  is  placed  in  the  Appendix, 
together  with  a  number  of  miscellaneous  docimients 
which  seemed  relevant  and  appropriate  to  the  pre- 
sent collection.  These  consist  of  a  sketch  of  the 
Murray  family,  by  Sarah  Lydia  Howe ;  a  short  no- 
tice of  Robert  Bennet  (James  Murray's  maternal 
grandfather),  from  Jeffrey's  "History  and  Antiq- 
uities of  Roxburghshire ;  "  a  notice  of  Dr.  John 
Murray,  of  Norwich;  et  letter  from  Mary  Murray 
concerning  the  death  of  her  father,  Dr.  John  Mur- 
ray ;  a  short  note  concerning  Dorothy  Murray  ;  and 
two  bonds   given    by   Mrs.  Inman   to   her  grand- 


PREFACE  IX 

nephews,  John  and  Ralph  Forbes.  The  original 
bonds  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Archibald 
M.  Howe,  and  seem  most  characteristic  and  illustra- 
tive of  her  attractive  personahty. 

I  take  pleasure  in  including  in  the  Appendix  the 
biographical  sketch  of  my  uncle  James  by  our  dear 
Governor  Wolcott,  which  he  wrote  for  the  Histori- 
cal Society,  and  told  me  I  might  use  either  in 
whole  or  in  part,  if  I  would  have  his  permission 
confirmed  by  the  Society.  This  I  had  no  difficulty 
in  doing  a  year  before  Governor  Wolcott  died. 

I  cannot  close  without  warm  thanks  to  my  friend, 
Miss  Catharine  I.  Ireland,  for  many  months  of  excel- 
lent work  at  verification  and  selection,  and  to  my 
kinsman,  Mr.  Bronson  Murray,  for  much  sympathy 
and  valuable  information ;  and  also  to  my  cousin, 
Archibald  M.  Howe,  for  his  assistance. 

SUSAN  I.  LESLEY. 
Milton,  October,  1901. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PA6B 

I.  ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER,   1713-1735 1 

II.  A    PIONEER    PLANTER     IN     NORTH     CAROLINA, 

1735-1763 20 

m.    BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY,  1749-1773 103 

rv.    A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON,   1765-1778  .  150 

V.    IN  EXILE,  1770-1781 255 

APPENDIX 291 

INDEX 317 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
^  James  Murray Frontispiece 

After  the  painting  by  Copley. 
Sketch  of  Unthank 2 

By  Mrs.  Cutting,  a  descendant  of  Dr.  John  Murray. 

John  Murray  of  Bowhill 8 

John  Murray  of  Philiphaugh 10 

Facsimile  of  the  document  showing  James  Murray's 

Reinstatement  as  a  Member  of  the  Council  in 

North  Carolina 92 

Dr.  John  Murray 102 

From  the  painting  by  Samuel  Lane  in  the  possession  of 

Mr.  John  Marshall  Guion  of  Seneca  Falls,  N.  Y. 
Dorothy  Murray  :  Mrs.  John  Forbes 118 

From  the  painting  by  Copley  in  the  possession  of  the 

Forbes  Family. 
The  House  at  Brush  Hill,  Milton 120 

From  a  drawing  by  Ellen  S.  Bulfinch. 
Elizabeth  Murray:  Mrs.  Inman 150 

From  the  painting  by  Copley  in  the  possession  of  the 

Revere  Family. 
Facsimile    of    the    Commission    of    James  Murray  as 

Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Massachusetts  ....     158 

The  Inman  House,  Cambridge 180 

Facsimile  Letter 214 

Elizabeth  Murray  :  Mrs.  Robbins 256 

From  the  painting  (about  1820)  by  Chester  Harding. 


LETTERS  OF 

JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 


CHAPTER  I 

ON   THE   SCOTTISH   BORDER 

1713-1735 

Among  the  farms  of  Roxburghshire,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Ewes,  a  valley  which  Dorothy  Wordsworth 
characterizes  as  "unknown  to  song/'  but  to  her 
"  more  interesting  than  Teviot  itself/'  is  Unthank, 
the  birthplace  and  early  home  of  James  Murray. 
Around  it,  as  it  Hes  far  up  the  long  deep  glen,  rise 
hills,  some  of  them  over  two  thousand  feet  high, 
grassy  below,  feathery  with  heath  at  top,  and 
browsed  over  in  the  silence  and  remoteness  by  num- 
berless sheep.  A  little  ridge  on  the  brae  side  is  all 
that  is  left  now  to  show  where  once  stood  the  house 
leased  by  James  Murray's  father  from  the  Duke  of 
Buccleuch.  This  ridge,  deserted  by  all  save  the 
lambkins  which  play  about  under  the  trees,  is  pro- 
tected still  by  its  group  of  "  Scots  firs,"  with  reddish 
brown  bark  and  cone-laden  branches,  while  at  the 
foot  of  the  brae  is  a  small  lonely  burying-ground 


2  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

inclosed  by  a  low  wall.^  For  any  sign  of  living 
human  presence  one  must  to-day  look  to  a  dwelling- 
house  nearer  the  river's  side,  built  perhaps  at  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  comfortable  and 
commodious,  but  not  suggestive  of  the  earlier  time. 
The  road  which  runs  past  this  house,  following  the 
river  and  traversing  the  valley  from  end  to  end, 
was  once  a  traveled  route  from  Harwich  to  Carhsle, 
but  is  now  almost  deserted  except  by  the  shepherds 
and  the  few  inhabitants  of  the  valley.  Unthank 
Burn,  falling  into  the  Ewes  upon  the  east,  still  fur- 
ther identifies  the  estate,  which,  to  be  more  definite, 
is  three  miles  and  a  quarter  below  Mosspaul  by 
river  and  road,  six  miles  above  Langholm. 

Yet  while  geographically  Unthank  is  in  Eox- 
burghshire,  ecclesiastically  it  is  included  in  the 
Dumfrieshire  parish  of  Ewes ;  and  it  is  to  the  Ewes 
parish  register  that  we  must  look  for  the  records  of 
the  births  of  James's  brothers  and  sisters.^     There, 

1  For  this  description  of  Unthank  we  are  indebted  to  a  letter 
written  to  Mrs.  Lesley  by  Mr.  Walter  MacLeod. 

2  Among  James  Murray's  papers  is  the  following  memorandum  : 
The  Births  of  the  Children  of  John  Murray  of  Unthank  tennant  born 
4  Febry  1677  by  Annie  Bennet  his  wife  born  Novr  1694,  married 
the  29th  day  of  April  1712. 

1.  James  Murray,  born  Sunday,  Angst  9th,  1713. 

2.  Archibald,  born  Friday,  April  15th,  1715. 

3.  Barbara,  born  Sunday,  Febry  3,  1717. 

4.  Anne,  born  Friday,  Jany  23,  1719. 

5.  John,  born  Tuesday,  Jany  18,  1721. 

6.  Andrew,  born  Jany  3,  1723. 

7.  William,  born  Wednesday,  Apr.  10th  1724. 

8.  Elizabeth,  bom  Thursdy,  July  7th,  1726. 

9.  Andrew,  born  Wednesdy,  Apr.  10th,  1728. 


'  t^^^\ . 


'^^:^-Kir, 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  3 

too,  the  marriage  of  his  father,  John  Murray  of  Un- 
thank,  to  his  cousin  Anne  Bennet,  daughter  of  the 
Laird  of  Chesters,  is  set  down,  though  the  more  pic- 
turesque announcement  of  marriage  intentions,  "pro 
primo,  pro  secundo,  pro  tertio,  is  in  the  register  of 
the  Bennet's  parish  of  Ancrum. 

The  name  of  Murray  is  a  famiHar  one  in  Scottish 
annals.     First  of  the  Murrays  in  our  record  ^  stands 

1  Line  of  descent  from  Archibald  de  Moravia  to  John  Murray  of 
Bowhill,  taken  from  Burke's  Landed  Gentry ^  7th  ed.,  vol.  ii.  p. 
1323. 

Archibald  de  Moravia,  mentioned  in  the  chartulary  of  Newbottle, 
1280.  In  1296  subscribed  the  oath  of  fealty  to  Edward  I.,  and  d. 
in  the  reign  of  Robert  Bruce,  leaving  a  son  and  successor, 

Roger  de  Moravia,  who  obtained,  1321,  from  James  Lord  Douglas, 
...  a  charter,  "Terrarum  de  Fala."  .  .  .  Roger  d.  1330  [earlier 
editions  say  1380].     His  great-grandson, 

Patrick  Murray  of  Falahill,  acquiring  land  about  Philiphaugh,  had  a 
charter  dated  20  Feb.,  1477,  .  .  .  was  s.  by  his  son, 

John  Murray  of  Falahill,  ...  the  celebrated  "Outlaw  Murray," 
who  .  .  .  bid  defiance  to  the  King  of  Scotland,  James  IV.  .  .  . 
The  Outlaw  .  .  .  was  s.  by  his  elder  son, 

James  Murray  of  Falahill,  who  dying  about  .  .  .  1529,  was  s.  by  his 
elder  son, 

Patrick  Murray  of  Falahill,  who  obtained  under  the  Great  Seal  a 
charter,  dated  28  Jan.,  1528,  "  Terrarum  de  Philiphaugh,"  and  had 
the  heritable  sheriffship  of  Selkirkshire  .  .  .  confirmed  and  rati- 
fied to  himself  and  his  heirs.  .  .  .  m.  1st,  Margaret  Fleming ; 
2ndly,  a  dau.  of  Berth  wick  ;  3rdly,  Elizabeth  Ormiston,  widow. 
.  .  .  d.  1580,  leaving  his  grandson  (the  son  of  James  the  younger, 
of  Falahill)  his  heir. 

Patrick  Murray  of  Falahill,  m.  1st,  Agnes,  dau.  of  Sir  Andrew  Mur- 
ray of  Black  Barony  ;  and  2ndly,  Marian,  dau.  of  Sir  Lewis  Bel- 
lendon.     By  his  first  wife  he  had  .  .  . 

Sir  John  Murray,  Knt.,  of  Philiphaugh  [c?.  1640].  He  m.  1st,  Janet, 
dau.  of  Sir  William  Scott  of  Ardross,  and  had  by  her  .  .  . 

Sir  James  Murray,  knighted  by  Charles  I.,  m.  1st,  Anne,  dau.  of  Sir 
Lewis  Craig  of  Riccartoun,  and,  dying  before  his  father,  left  .  .  . 

Sir  John  Murray  (successor  to  his  grandfather)  .  .  .  m.  Ist,  Anne, 


4  JAJSIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Archibald  of  Moravia,  mentioned  in  the  chartulary 
of  Newbottle  (1280),  and  presumably  of  the  Moray s, 
Lords  of  Both  well.  He,  by  a  marriage  with  a 
dauo'hter  of  Sir  David  Olifard,  came  into  consider- 
able  possessions  in  the  County  of  Selkirk.  In  1296 
he  swore  fealty  to  Edward  I.,  but  he  lived  to  see 
Kobert  Bruce  king  of  Scotland.  Archibald's  son, 
Roger,  obtained,  in  1321,  from  James  Lord  Doug- 
las, superior  of  his  lands,  a  charter,  "  Terrarum  de 
Fala."  He  resided  at  Falahill,  and  for  many  years 
that  estate  furnished  their  chief  title  to  his  descend- 
ants. Among  these,  coming  down  to  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  John  Murray  of  Fala- 
hill. 

dau.  of  Sir  Archibald  Douglas  of  Cavers,  .  .  .  and  had  six  sons 
and  four  daughters  :  1.  James  (Sir)  his  heir  ;  II.  John,  of  Bowhill, 
one  of  the  Senators  of  the  College  of  Justice  ;  III.  William,  a 
colonel  in  the  army  ;  I.  Anne,  m.  1st,  Alexander  Pringle  of  White- 
bank,  and  2ndly,  Robert  Rutherford  of  Rowland  ;  II.  Janet  ;  III. 
Rachel  ;  IV.  Elizabeth.  Sir  John  Murray  m.  2ndly,  Margaret, 
dau.  of  Sir  John  Scott  of  Scotstarvit,  and  had  by  her  an  only 
daughter,  Jean,  who  d.  young.  He  d.  1676. 
With  John  Murray  of  Bowhill,  second  son  of  the  above  Sir  John 
Murray,  begins  the  cadet  branch  of  the  family,  leading  to  James 
Murray,  Loyalist.  The  descent  is  as  follows  :  — 
John  Murray  of  Bowhill. 

John  Murray  of  Unthank. 

J 

James,  Dr.  John      Barbara.      Elizabeth.      William. 

"  Loyalist.'*     of  Norwich. 
The  statement  that  John  of  Unthank  was  a  son  of  John  of  Bow- 
hill is  in  accordance  with  family  tradition.     It  "  is  so  stated,"  says 
Mr.  Bronson  Murray,  "in  the  tree  made  for  my  father  (in  1842?) 
by  a  member  of  the  English  family." 

The  genealogical  table  in  the  appendix,  prepared  by  Mr.  Archibald 
M.  Howe,  contains  additional  information. 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  5 

It  IS  this  John  Murray  of  Falahill  who  especially 
challenges  attention  as  "The  Outlaw."  His  is  a 
figure  which  looms  up  vague  but  heroic  in  the  back- 
ground of  border  history,  and  attains  to  immortality 
in  the  ballad  known  as  "  The  Sang  of  the  Outlaw 
Murray."  Whether  he  is  a  definite  Murray  of  the 
time  of  James  IV.,  or  several  Murrays  merged  in 
one  half-legendary  being,  is  little  to  the  purpose. 
In  history  he  may  or  may  not  have  done  all  the 
deeds  attributed  to  him ;  in  minstrelsy  he  was  a 
man  of  gigantic  stature,  who  "  laid  the  country 
lee  "  with  his  great  club,  maintained  a  proud  state 
in  the  isolation  of  the  forest,  scorning  both  court 
and  king,  and  defied  the  messengers  of  James  when 
they  claimed  the  forest  lands  as  possessions  of  the 
crown,  but  yielded  fealty  at  last,  upon  condition  of 
obtaining  from  the  king  the  sheriffship  of  the  lands 
in  Ettrick  Forest.^  With  the  dwellers  along  Tweed 
or  Yarrow,  poetry-loving  folk  whose  border  ballads 

1  The  lands  of  Ettrick  Forest  were  part  of  the  jointure  of  James's 
queen.  The  High  Sheriffship  of  Ettrick  Forest  or  Selkirkshire  was 
not  lost  with  the  passing  of  the  Outlaw.  His  grandson,  Patrick 
Murray  of  Falahill,  who  died  in  1580,  had  the  office  confirmed  to 
himself  and  his  heirs.  It  remained  a  Murray  inheritance  until  the 
time  of  the  Sir  John  Murray,  Knight,  of  Philiphaugh,  who  died  in 
1676.  He,  it  seems,  sold  the  inherited  right  to  the  king.  Even 
after  that  transaction,  however,  the  office  was  bestowed  on  members 
of  the  family,  for  in  October,  1681,  "  the  Council  (Privy)  found  that 
Philiphaugh  (Sir  James  Murray,  b.  1655)  had  malversed,  and  been 
remiss  in  punishing  conventicles,  and  therefore  they  simply  deprived 
him  of  his  right  of  Sheriffship  of  Selkirk  —  it  not  being  heritable, 
but  bought  by  King  Charles  from  his  father  —  and  declared  it  was 
devolved  in  the  King's  hands  to  give  it  to  any  other."  Craig-Brown, 
Hist,  of  Selkirkshire,  vol.  ii.  p.  345. 


6  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

had  turned  their  very  rivers  to  poems  and  their 
fields  to  history,  merely  to  say  Ettrick  Forest  was 
to  call  out  memories  of  a  common  nursery-lore  and 
common  ancestry,  and  among  these  people  the 
"  Sang  of  the  Outlaw "  was  an  especial  favorite. 
Professor  Child,  who  gives  it  a  place  in  his  collection 
of  Enghsh  and  Scottish  ballads,  grants  it  indeed 
scant  praise.  But  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  first  came 
across  an  incomplete  version  of  it  among  the  papers 
of  Mrs.  Cockburn,  and  afterwards  printed  it  with 
additional  stanzas  collected  from  various  sources  and 
inserted  by  him  where  he  thought  they  properly 
belonged,  accords  it  high  merit. 

The  roll  of  the  Outlaw's  lands  falls  imposingly 
from  his  lips  :  — 

"  Fair  Philiphaugh  is  mine  by  right, 
And  Lewinshope  still  mine  shall  be  ; 
Newark,  Foulshiells,  and  Tinnies  baith, 
My  bow  and  arrow  purchased  me. 

"And  I  have  native  steads  to  me, 
The  Newark  Lee  and  Hanginshaw  ; 
I  have  mony  steads  in  the  forest  schaw, 
But  them  by  name  I  dinna  knaw." 

Philiphaugh,  first  in  the  Outlaw's  roll,  is,  as  Scott 
portrays  it,  a  plain  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length 
and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  broad,  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  hills,  while  its  fourth  side  borders  the  Et- 
trick River,  just  opposite  the  high  bank  of  Selkirk. 
The  plain  is   famous  as   the  battle-ground  upon 

^  Scott  made  Newark  Castle  the  scene  where  '*  The  Lay  of  the  Last 
Minstrel "  is  recited.  Its  ruins  were  just  outside  the  park  of  Bowhill. 
Scott,  Poetical  Works,  Edin.,  1833,  vol.  vi.  p.  44. 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  7 

which  the  Covenanters  cheeked  Montrose,  marching 
to  the  aid  of  Charles  I.  A  fatal  spot  it  was  for  the 
fortunes  of  the  English  monarch,  and  one  which 
is  the  subject  of  another  ballad  in  "  Scottish  Min- 
strelsy." Eventually  Philiphaugh  gave  its  name  to 
the  more  modern  seat  of  the  Murrays  and  to  the 
head  o£  the  family.  Sir  John  Murray,  who  sat  in 
Parliament  for  the  County  of  Selkirk  in  1612,  was 
the  first  designated  as  "  of  Philiphaugh."  James, 
oldest  son  of  this  Philiphaugh,  was  knighted  by 
Charles  I.,  and  sacrificed  one  of  his  sons  in  the 
service  of  the  king.  Sir  James  died  before  his 
father,  and  the  title  and  lands  of  Philiphaugh  de- 
scended in  1640  to  his  son,  a  second  Sir  John,  who 
was  the  father  of  six  sons  and  five  daughters.  The 
Murrays  of  Phihphaugh  are  traced  quite  down  to 
modern  times  by  Burke  in  his  "  Landed  Gentry." 
But  our  interest  leaves  the  main  line  and  Phihp- 
haugh with  Su^  John's  second  son,  John  Murray  of 
Bowhill.  This  John  Murray  was  the  father  of  John 
Murray  of  Unthank,  born  in  1677,  who  in  turn  was 
the  father  of  the  James  Murray  whose  letters  are 
printed  here. 

John  Murray  of  Unthank  is  described  by  his  sec- 
ond son,  Dr.  John  Murray  of  Norwich,  as  "  a  man 
who,  by  a  peculiar  fortitude  of  mind,  a  steady  reso- 
lution, an  unshaken  virtue,  an  uncommon  sagacity 
and  successful  industry,  not  only  surmounted  every 
difficulty,  but  endeared  his  name  and  raised  his 
credit  in  the  neighborhood  where  he  lived."  At 
Unthank  he  devoted  himself  to  the  care  of  his  es- 


8  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tate  and  to  the  education  of  his  sons.  Scattered  at 
longer  or  shorter  distances  from  Unthank,  through- 
out the  neighboring  counties,  were  a  score  of  Scot- 
tish households  whose  inmates  were  directly  related 
to  him  or  connected  with  him  by  marriage.  Stew- 
arts, Grahams,  Pringles,  Murray s,  Bennets,  Kerrs, 
Scotts,  and  others  had  quarreled  and  married, 
thriven  and  multiphed,  until  the  population  had  be- 
come one  vast  cousinship,  bound  together  by  that 
clannish  loyalty  which,  quite  apart  from  pride  of 
name,  is  ineradicable  in  the  Scots  to  the  present 
day.  Chesters,^  an  estate  on  the  Teviot,  six  miles 
from  Ancrum,  had  for  several  generations  been  pos- 
sessed by  the  Bennets,  James  Murray's  maternal 
ancestors.  Robert  Bennet,  James  Murray's  great- 
grandfather, had  been  a  stanch  Covenanter,  perse- 
cuted for  twenty  years  or  more  for  his  Presbyteri- 
anism.  His  history  was  one  long  tale  of  fines  and 
imprisonments,  for  no  sooner  was  he  at  liberty  than 
he  involved  himself  in  fresh  difficulties  by  attending 
field  conventicles,  or  by  harboring  the  covenanting 
preachers  in  his  house.  John  Murray  of  Unthank, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  by  inheritance  an  adherent 
of  the  Established  Church. 

Born  at  Unthank,  on  Sunday,  August  9,  1713, 
James  Murray  passed  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his 
life  after  the  wholesome  manner  of  Scottish  lads, 
porridge-fed,  bare-legged,  —  he  protested  in  after 

1  Chesters  was  sold  about  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  by 
the  three  sisters  of  Robert  Bennet,  the  last  of  that  name,  to  the 
family  of  Ogilvie. 


JOHN    MURRAY   DF    BOWHILL 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  9 

years  against  his  grandson's  wearing  stockings, — 
and  straitly  bred  in  hardihood  and  industry.  He 
idoHzed  his  father  and  took  eagerly  his  instruction, 
which  was  apparently  all  the  book  learning  the  boy 
had.  It  included  French  and  something  of  English 
literature,  sufficient  Latin  to  furnish  occasional  re- 
freshment and  solace  throughout  the  rest  of  his  life, 
and  enough  of  mathematics  to  enable  him  to  begin 
a  mercantile  apprenticeship  in  London  when  thrown 
out  upon  the  world.  With  his  mother's  people  at 
Chesters,  including  his  cousins  Anne,  Jean,  Andrew, 
Robert,  and  Barbara,  he  was  intimate.  A  kindly 
intercourse,  also,  was  kept  up  between  him  and 
the  Philiphaugh  cousins  at  Hangingshaw,  of  whom, 
from  one  or  two  allusions  in  the  letters,  it  appears 
that  his  favorite  was  Mary,  afterward  married  to  Sir 
Alexander  Don  of  Newton.  In  February,  1728, 
when  the  father  was  fifty-one  years  of  age  and  the 
son  fifteen,  John  Murray  died,  leaving  his  widow 
and  four  younger  children,  Barbara,  John,  William, 
and  EHzabeth,  to  the  care  of  James.  The  httle 
family  remained  at  Unthank  for  four  years  more, 
James  supplying  as  well  as  he  could  the  place  of  his 
father,  until,  in  1732,  the  lease  of  the  farm,  as  weU 
as  the  personal  property  connected  with  the  estate, 
were  taken  off  their  hands  by  Robert  Elliott  and 
Walter  Scott. ^  Even  then,  Mrs.  Murray  and  the 
children  remained  at  Unthank,  but  James,  who  was 
by  this  time  nineteen  years  of  age,  left  them  to  be 

1  Sir  Walter's  uncle,  James  Murray's  cousin.     His  father  and 
James  Murray's  father  married  Bennet  sisters. 


10  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

fitted  for  business.  Through  the  influence  of  Sir 
John  Murray  of  Phihphaugh,  who,  acting  with  An- 
drew Bennet,  was  one  of  Mrs.  Murray's  advisers, 
he  was  apprenticed  to  WilHam  Dunbar^  a  merchant 
of  London,  in  the  West  India  trade.  In  London 
the  lad  was  an  inmate  of  Mr.  Dunbar's  family,  and 
for  eighteen  months  after  the  apprenticeship  was 
over  he  remained  with  him.  Of  his  earlier  experi- 
ences in  business  he  wrote  to  his  uncle,  Sir  John 
Murray  of  Philiphaugh  :  — 

(London,  May  25,  1732.)  "  There  is  a  ship  just 
come  from  Antigua  of  which  my  Master  is  husband, 
and  he  has  given  me  so  much  to  manage  it  and  to 
show  me  the  method." 

(Dec.  12,  1732.)  ''  I  have  shipt  by  my  mas- 
ter's direction  a  parcell  of  coarse  Dutch  linnens 
consigned  to  his  correspondend*  in  Antigua,  the 
amount  whereof  will  be  about  .£100." 

And  to  his  uncle,  Andrew  Bennet  of  Chesters  :  — 

(Oct.  6,  1732.)  "I  send  by  the  Unity,  John 
Finlason  for  Leith,  ...  a  Hamper  containing  two 
dozen  of  rum,  one  dozen  of  which  (being  part  of 
my  first  fruits  in  trade)  must  beg  your  acceptance 
of,  and  please  send  half  a  dozen  to  my  mother  & 
the  other  half  dozen  you  may  either  present  to 
Baillie  Jeardon  on  Johnny's  acct  or  some  little  thing 
instead  of  it  &  keep  it.  They  call  it  good  here  & 
say  it  only  wants  age." 

Although  separated  from  his  mother  and  his  bro- 
thers and  sisters,  their  affairs  continued  to  receive 
his  anxious  care. 


JOHN    MURRAY   OF    PHILIPHAUGH 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  11 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO   ANDREW  BENNET. 

London,  Aug''  5th,  1732. 
^  Since  my  last  of  the  4*^  ult«  I  have  had  no  occa- 
sion to  write  you,  and  this  serves  to  acquaint  you 
that  I  continue  in  health  to  like  my  business,  etc. 

I  am  very  glad  to  find  by  a  letter  from  my  Mo- 
ther that  she  enjoys  health  &  is  pleased  with  her 
new  way.  I  hope  your  advise  and  the  children's 
benefit  will  induce  her  to  a  town  life  next  year; 
but,  be  that  as  it  will,  the  children  must  be  quaHfied 
for  business,  since  it  is  by  it  that  the  lads  in  partic- 
ular must  earn  their  bread,  &  you  are  very  sensible 
that  they  had  much  better  bestow  what  they  have 
upon  the  knowledge  of  some  handsome  Employment 
than  have  the  one  and  want  the  other.  But  both 
is  best,  and  I  shall  do  my  outmost  to  preserve  them 
their  patrimoney  intire  to  begin  the  world  with. 
Therefore  I  thought  it  not  amiss  to  write  you  the 
following  proposal  viz. 

To  continue  Joliny  at  school  since  he  likes  his 
book  &  is  endowed  with  a  tolerable  good  genius,  I 
am  advised  by  very  sufficient  Judge ;  that  when  he 
has  been  two  or  three  more  years  at  School,  if  he 
Inclines  (&  his  friends  think  proper),  to  bind  him 
to  a  Surgeon  apothecary  in  Edinb'  for  five  years, 
&  when  he  has  had  further  practice  either  in  the 
hospitals  here  or  abroad  he  has  a  very  good  chance 
of  handsome  bread  almost  anywhere  in  a  genteel 
way,  and  it  does  not  require  a  stock  to  begin  with. 
But  his  own  Avent  cannot  defray  this  charge.  Nei- 
ther do  I  suppose  my  Mother  can  easily  afford  him 


12  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

SO  much.  Therefore  I  propose  to  supply  what  his 
own  Avent  comes  short  of  keeping  him  at  school 
and  during  his  apprenticeship,  for  which  I  hope  mj 
Mother  will  not  think  unreasonable  to  give  her 
Obligation  to  pay  me  whatever  I  lay  out  upon  that 
accot  at  her  death,  or  else  to  defray  the  Charges  of 
their  Education  and  take  my  Obligation  at  my  death. 
This  proposal  may  perhaps  look  out  of  the  way,  but 
sure  I  am  it  is  made  with  no  other  Intent  but  as 
the  best  and  most  equal  way  of  serving  the  children 
without  prejudicing  my  Mother  and  with  as  little 
harm  to  myself  as  in  duty  to  them  I  can  contrive, 
and  at  the  same  time  as  much  as  my  circumstances 
can  well  admit  of ;  for  God  only  knows  how  matters 
may  turn.  .  .  . 

I  have  got  other  7  new  ruffled  shirts  cost  £4  & 
a  suit  of  clothes  for  Sundays  cost  £5,  10.  The 
former  I  have  paid  myself,  the  later  my  Master  will 
advance  for  me,  and  since  I  have  a  little  money  for 
my  pocket  you  need  not  remit  me  any  until  further 
advice. 

That  article  of  cloaths  will  make  me  go  beyond 
my  bounds  this  year,  having  all  to  provide  and 
obliged  to  go  genteel.  As  for  my  pocket  money,  it 
is  but  a  trifle,  for  I  keep  little  or  no  company,  hav- 
ing enough  of  business  to  divert  me  and  no  more. 

To  his  sister  Barbara,  then  just  at  the  tempestuous 
and  headstrong  age  of  sixteen,  he  wrote  gentle  bro- 
therly letters,  having  indeed  more  sympathy  than 
blame  for  her  not  unnatural  difficulties  of  tempera- 
ment and  temper. 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  13 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  BARBARA  MURRAY. 

LoND°  Octo'  the  1st,  1733. 

D°  Sister  Babie,  —  This  comes  with  a  set  of 
Spectators  than  which  I  could  not  think  of  anything 
more  useful  as  well  as  diverting  for  you,  altho  be- 
fore you  are  perfectly  acquaint  with  them  you  may 
think  otherwise. 

I  earnestly  recommend  them  to  your  reading  and 
acceptance  from  your  Lo  Bro. 

JAMES  MURRAY   TO  BARBARA   MURRAY. 

London  18th  Oct',  1734. 

D^  Sister,  —  With  my  last  to  you  about  this 
time  12  month  I  sent  you  a  Sett  of  Spectators,  and 
with  this  you  have  a  silver  thimble,  which  tho'  a  trifle 
in  comparison  with  the  other  you  must  not  slight,  as 
the  tender  of  affection  is  the  same  in  both,  for  I  do 
assure  you  I  am  and  always  shall  be  very  anxious 
about  your  welfare,  &  I  think  you  are  to  blame  for 
not  writing  me  ever  since  I  have  been  here.  How 
you  have  been  &  how  you  [are]  employed. 

If  you  cannot  write  yourself,  you  might  have  got 
somebody  to  write  for  you,  tho'  I  would  rather 
have  it  of  your  own  if  it  was  the  worse.  Whatever 
you  do  let  me  advise  you  to  do  it  with  humility,  & 
be  ready  to  take  advice  of  others,  especially  those 
of  more  experience  than  yourself,  for  following  one's 
own  will  against  reason,  or  in  other  words  a  perverse 
obstinacy,  generally  ends  in  confusion.  Be  not  fond 
of  appearing  in  finer  cloaths  than  your  fortune  will 
allow,  but  what  are  suitable  to  your  station  wear 


14  JAJMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

neat  and  clean.  x\bove  all  the  love  of  God  & 
religion  without  bigotry,  and  obliging  behavior  to 
the  world  in  general,  &  to  our  Parents,  and  other 
relations  &  Masters  in  Part  are  to  be  required  as 
carrying  with  them  present  as  well  as  future  hap- 
piness. ...     I  am  with  sincerity 

Your  very  affec  Bro'. 

"  Let  me  know,"  he  wrote  in  April,  1733,  to  his 
uncle,  Chesters,  "  whether  my  Mother  stays  in  Un- 
thank  or  not.  I  am  afraid  (for  all  her  seeming 
pleased  in  her  letters  to  me)  that  she  has  but  very 
indifferent  accommodation  there.  I  wish,  if  it  is  so 
she  could  be  better  put  up  altho  at  more  charge. 
I  would  be  very  willing  to  contribute  to  that  and 
forwarding  the  children's  education  all  I  can  rather 
than  she  should  undergo  any  hardships,  or  they  be 
lost,  when  it  is  in  my  power  to  help  it,  for  I  am 
resolved  as  it  is  my  duty  (so  far  as  I  am  able)  to 
serve  her  as  long  as  she  lives ;  and  them  till  they 
are  in  a  capacity  of  Serving  themselves,  and  then  if 
they  are  not  wilHng  let  them  see  to  it." 
And  again  in  the  following  month  :  — 
'^  If  my  Mother  would  be  persuaded  to  go  to  a 
town  where  the  children  might  be  educated,  I  think 
she  and  they  might  live  pretty  easily  upon  the  whole. 
.  .  .  And  if  what  I  have  said  is  not  encouragement 
to  go  to  a  town,  and  what  she  has  met  with  not 
encouragement  enough  to  leave  Unthank,  I  do  not 
know  what  to  say  next.  It  galls  me  mightily  to 
think  that  she  should  have  been  in  a  manner  driven 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BOEDER  15 

to  such  methods  as  otherwise  she  would  have  hated 
by  bemg  abused  even  in  that  place  where  not  lono- 
ago  she  had  everything  at  command.  ...  I  think  it 
will  come  better  from  you  in  my  behalf  if  you  will 
be  so  kind  as  to  mention  it  to  her  in  your  own  way. 
...  I  incHne  to  say  as  little  and  do  as  much  to 
serve  her,  &c.,  as  I  can,  but  I  make  an  exception  to 
this  last  rule  with  you,  since  it  is  necessary  you 
should  know  my  mind  about  it,  which  I  cannot  well 
tell  you  in  fewer  words." 

Very  shrewdly,  finding  that  other  means  of  effect- 
ing the  removal  failed,  James  next  appealed  to  the 
parson.  His  letter  to  the  Rev.  Robert  Malcolm  is 
noticeable  for  the  frank  and  Catholic  spirit  which 
it  displays  :  respect  is  paid  to  the  dissenting  pastor, 
but  his  own  stand  as  a  member  of  the  estabhshed 
church  is  firmly  maintained.     He  says :  — 

"As  we  have  been  often  the  better  for  your 
advice  I  make  bold  once  more  to  be  troublesome 
to  you.  You  cannot  but  know  that  our  quitting 
the  farm  has  made  it  very  inconvenient  for  my 
Mother  to  live  in  Unthank  .  .  .  She  has  been 
often  desired  to  go  to  a  town.  ...  I  know  your 
advice  will  have  a  good  deal  of  influence  with  her, 
therefore  beg  your  endeavors  when  you  go  that 
way.  I  have  sent  you  a  book  by  the  Kendal  Car- 
rier ...  of  which  I  beg  your  acceptance.  It  con- 
tains 16  sermons  by  Foster,  one  of  the  foremost  of 
our  non-subscribing  Dissenters.  I  believe  on  the 
whole  it  will  please  you,  tho  in  some  things  not 
agreeable  to  our  estabhshed  opinions." 


W  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

Thus  urged  on  all  sides,  Mrs.  Murray  removed  in 
July,  1734,  to  Hawick,  not  far  from  Unthank,  where 
she  remained  until  she  died. 

The  share  of  his  father's  estate  inherited  by 
James  amounted  to  one  thousand  pounds.  Portions 
of  this  small  patrimony,  as  has  been  seen,  he  was 
allowed  to  use  in  modest  ventures  of  his  own  to 
Antigua  and  elsewhere ;  but  they  did  not  meet  with 
any  very  notable  success,  and  the  young  man  deter- 
mined to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  New  World.  Grave 
and  discreet  beyond  his  years,  abeady  he  had  in 
several  instances  undertaken  to  be  responsible  for 
the  welfare  of  others.  Sons  of  Mr.  Rutherford  and 
of  Mr.  Jordan,  as  well  as  of  his  uncle  Bennet,  had 
been  sent  to  London  to  be  under  his  care,  and  had 
been  placed  by  him  in  situations,  and  faithfully  be- 
friended. It  was  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at,  there- 
fore, that  his  new  plans  included  provisions  for  a 
number  of  other  people.  Two  sons  of  Mr.  Ellison 
were  to  go  with  him,  not  to  mention  ten  or  twelve 
mechanics,  engaged  for  five  or  seven  years,  and  a 
Scotch  domestic,  and  he  even  went  so  far  as  to 
undertake  the  charge  of  his  sister  Barbara,  only 
eighteen  years  of  age,^  and  of  his  cousin,  Jean  Kerr. 

The  objective  point  for  these  young  adventurers 
was  the  Cape  Fear  region  in  North  Carolina.  The 
Carolinas,  having  shaken  off  the  proprietary  rule, 
were  now  entering,  it  was  hoped,  upon  a  more  pros- 
perous period  as  dependencies  of  the  crown.  Of 
the   northern   colony,   after   the    quarrelsome  rule 

1  James  himself  in  1735  was  only  twenty-two. 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  17 

of  Bumngton,  Gabriel  Johnston  had  recently  been 
appointed  governor.  Johnston  was  a  Scotchman, 
who  had  been  a  physician  and  a  professor  at  St. 
Andrews  University,  and  who  afterwards  in  London 
had  mingled  more  or  less  in  politics.  Spencer 
Compton,  Baron  of  Wilmington,  had  been  influ- 
ential in  securing  his  nomination.  North  Carohna 
affairs  were  thus  making  some  stir  in  Scottish 
circles,  a  fact  which  directed  James  Murray's  de- 
sires to  this  particular  colony.  To  Governor  John- 
ston he  had  secured  letters  of  recommendation. 
His  friends,  Mr.  TulHdeph,  referred  to  in  the  next 
communication  to  his  uncle,  and  Mr.  ElHson,  con- 
templated taking  up  lands  in  the  Cape  Fear  region, 
and  had  commissioned  him  to  select  them.  On  his 
own  account  he  was  prepared  to  make  similar  invest- 
ments, from  which  he  sanguinely  anticipated  speedy 
and  large  returns ;  while  with  an  eye  to  the  immedi- 
ate future  he  laid  in  a  stock  of  merchandise. 

His  enumeration  of  his  reasons  for  venturing  upon 
this  untried  course  carries  with  it  a  conviction  of  his 
firmness  of  purpose,  and  its  confident  tone  must 
have  beguiled  the  Laird  of  Chesters  into  equally 
hopeful  assent. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO   ANDREW   BENNET. 

London  13  May  1735. 

.  .  .  The  small   encouragement  that  I  have  to 

stay  here  and  not  so  much  as  the  prospect  of  doing 

better  has  determined  me  to  accept  of  the  first  good 

opportunity  to  push  my  fortune  in  any  other  part  of 


18  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

the  world ;  which  I  told  a  particular  friend  of  mine 
here.  .  .  .  He  has  since  had  Letters  from  the  Gov- 
ernor of  North  Carolina  (with  whom  he  is  very  inti- 
mate) acquainting  him  of  the  growing  State  of  that 
province  and  of  his  intention  to  remove  his  court  to 
part  of  it  where  there  is  a  fine  navigable  river  lying 
in  a  convenient  place  for  trade  call'd  Cape  Fare 
Eiver.  There  I  intend  to  go  some  time  in  August 
next.  I  am  not  able  in  the  compass  of  a  letter  to 
give  you  all  the  reasons  for  such  a  choice,  but  for 
your  satisfaction  shall  give  you  a  few  of  the  most 
material. 

1.  It  is  a  climate  as  healthy  as  England. 

2.  It  is  cheaper  living  there  than  anywhere  in 
Scotland. 

3.  Land  which  may  now  be  bought  there  for  1" 
or  18^^  acre  will  in  all  probability  double  the  value 
every  year,  the  place  growing  daily  more  populous 
as  the  Land  Lower  down  in  that  River  has  already 
done.  This  determines  me  to  go  so  soon  as  August, 
that  I  may  be  there  and  purchase  about  one  thou- 
sand acres  before  it  is  known  that  the  Governor 
intends  to  remove  thither. 

4.  I  am  sure  of  the  Governor's  interest  to  support 
me. 

5.  My  own  fortune  is  sufficient  both  to  buy  a 
handsome  plantation  and  carry  on  as  large  a  trade 
as  I  have  occasion  for ;  the  profits  of  which  I  may 
expect  will  at  least  defray  the  charges  of  settling  me 
the  first  two  years  and  afterwards  lay  up  £200  ster- 
ling pr.  An. 


ON  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER  19 

6.  The  place  by  its  situation  is  entirely  out  of  the 
power  of  a  foreign  enemy,  which  is  no  small  advan- 
tage in  these  uncertain  times. 

7.  I  have  the  advantage  of  two  faithful  corre- 
spondents, Gent"^  of  Substance  and  Experience,  one 
in  England  ^  and  another  in  the  West  Indies,^  who 
are  willing  to  join  Interests  with  me  so  far  as  our 
little  trade  requires  it.  .  .  .  All  the  merchants  that  I 
have  talked  to  that  have  any  knowledge  of  these 
parts  say  it  is  the  best  thing  that  I  can  do ;  but, 
truly,  My  good  friend  and  Master,  who  knows  little 
or  nothing  of  the  plan,  from  an  excess  of  Zeal,  either 
for  my  interest  or  his  own  or  perhaps  both,  is  vastly 
out  of  humour  about  it  and  says  it  is  a  surprise 
upon  him  what  he  did  not  expect,  as  I  seemed  satis- 
fied with  the  offers  he  made  me  before  I  went  to 
Scotland,  tho'  I  said  not  a  word  to  them  either  pro 
or  con,  I  thought  them  so  small,  —  not  that  I  had 
any  intention  to  leave  him. 

Through  the  summer  his  preparations  were  made 
and  his  farewells  taken.  On  September  20,  1735, 
with  his  goods  and  his  charges,  he  embarked  at 
Gravesend  in  the  ship  Catherine,  Captain  Fay,  for 
the  port  of  Charleston. 

1  Mr.  EUison.  «  Mr.  TulUdeph. 


CHAPTER  II 

A   PIONEER  PLANTER   IN   NORTH    CAROLINA 

1735-1763 

On  November  27,  1735,  James  Murray  and  his 
little  company,  after  a  good  voyage  of  nine  weeks 
and  four  days,  landed  safely  in  Charleston.  "  From 
hence,"  he  wrote  two  days  later  to  his  cousin,  John 
Murray,  the  son  and  afterwards  the  successor  of  Sir 
John  of  Philiphaugh,  "  I  shall  in  about  ten  days 
proceed  to  Cape  Fear."  "  If  I  may  judge  from  ye 
short  trial  I  have  had  of  this  country,"  he  adds,  "  I 
think  it  is  a  very  agreeable  one,  particularly  at  this 
season,  and  ye  people  seem  very  friendly  among 
themselves  and  kind  to  strangers." 

His  reception  "by  Mr.  Grimke  and  others"  in 
Charleston  was  cordial.  Indeed,  the  Charleston 
men,  in  their  efforts  to  detain  him  in  South  Carolina, 
did  not  stop  at  mere  cordiality.  They  united  in 
abusing  the  Cape  Fear  country.  Some  of  the  new- 
comers were  dissuaded  by  their  bad  accounts  from 
journeying  further.  "  The  Dutch  people  that  came 
over  with  us,"  runs  one  of  Mr.  Murray's  letters, 
"  stayed  in  South  Carolina,  being  deterred  from  pro- 
ceeding by  misrepresentations.  .  .  .  From  this  you 
may  see  ye  risk  of  losing  people  that  are  sent  that 


A  PIONEER  PLA'JTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     21 

way.  I  was  almo? .  in  doubt  myself  .  .  .  from  the 
strange  stories  they  told  me." 

With  the  last  day  of  the  old  year,  however,  he  was 
off  for  the  land  of  doubtful  promise,  and  in  due  time 
reached,  not,  indeed,  his  final  destination,  which  was 
New  Town,  alias  "  New  Liverjiool  "  and  afterwards 
Wilmington,  but  its  rival,  Brunswick.  The  old 
proprietary  divisions  of  North  Carolina  were  fast 
disappearing.  At  this  date  the  province  was  divided 
into  two  counties,  Albemarle  and  Bath,  which  in 
turn  were  subdivided  into  precincts.  From  the 
precincts  were  sent  the  popular  representatives,  who 
formed  the  Assembly's  Lower  House,  a  body  usually 
at  sword's  points  with  the  governor,  whoever  he 
might  be,  and  supported  or  opposed,  as  the  wind 
shifted,  by  the  Upper  House,  or  Council,  as  well  as  by 
the  principal  officeholders,  namely,  the  surveyor-gen- 
eral, the  receiver-general  and  attorney-general,  and 
the  secretary  of  the  province.  In  the  precinct  of 
New  Hanover  in  Bath  were  these  two  small  settle- 
ments of  New  Town  and  Brunswick,  both  on  the 
Cape  Fear  River  and  both  strugghng  for  supremacy. 
Brunswick  had  been  commended  to  the  former  gov- 
ernor as  a  settlement  deserving  advancement,  but 
Johnston,  who  paid  as  little  heed  to  the  wishes  of 
popular  factions  as  did  his  predecessors,  favored 
New  Town. 

In  Brunswick  were  the  Moores,  Maurice,  George, 
and  Roger,  grandsons  of  Sir  John  Yeamans.  To 
the  Cape  Fear  lands,  which  their  grandfather  had 
"first  settled  and  afterward  abandoned,"  the  brothers 


22  JAMES  MURRAY,  LCYALIST 

had  come  from  South  Carohna,  and  by  long  residence 
and  many  services  had  acquired  leadership  in  the 
little  community.  Maurice  Moore  had  won  fame  in 
the  Indian  wars  of  the  past.  He  had  also  gained 
popularity  in  the  never-ceasing  strife  between  the 
people  and  the  governors.  It  was  he  who,  with 
Edward  Moseley,  had  gone  in  1718  to  Edenton,  and 
taken  forcible  possession  of  aU  the  papers  in  the 
office  of  the  secretary  of  the  province,  a  high-handed 
measure  which,  in  spite  of  his  consequent  arrest 
and  fine,  in  no  wise  lowered  him  in  pubhc  esteem, 
for  the  people  had  had  need  of  men  of  this  kind,  to 
hold  overbearing  officials  in  check.  Moseley,  on  his 
part,  was  for  years  before  and  after  this  episode 
Speaker  of  the  Lower  House. 

James  Murray,  entering  provincial  hfe  as  a  thor- 
ough-going conservative  and  friend  of  Johnston, 
could  scarcely  be  expected  to  fall  into  easy  relations 
with  the  governor's  natural  enemies.  Almost  at  the 
outset  he  clashed  with  the  Moores.  From  Roger  he 
rented  a  vacant  house,  and  in  it  took  up  his  first 
abode,  displaying  to  the  Brunswick  folk  his  London 
wares,  and  feeling  that  he  had  gained  a  foothold  on 
the  new  soil.  But  his  poHtical  tendencies  and  a,ffili- 
ations  put  a  too  great  strain  upon  the  relations  of 
landlord  and  tenant,  and  within  a  year  Roger  gave 
him  notice  to  "  turn  out." 

The  stock,  meanwhile,  sold  at  a  good  advance, 
with  the  exception  of  a  supply  of  wigs,  which  met 
with  no  market.  The  utter  lack  of  civilization  indi- 
cated by  the  small  demand  for  this  commodity  struck 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     23 

painfully  a  youth  accustomed  to  the  niceties  of 
Scottish  gentility.  He  excused  it  to  his  friends  on 
the  valid  ground  that  since  there  was  no  court  here 
there  was  no  occasion  for  ceremonious  dressing. 
Even  after  sixteen  years  had  passed  he  wrote  to  his 
London  wigmaker :  "  We  deal  so  much  in  caps  in 
this  country  that  we  are  almost  as  careless  of  the 
furniture  of  the  outside  as  of  the  inside  of  our 
heads.  I  have  had  but  one  wig  since  the  last  I  had 
of  you,  and  yours  has  outworn  et.  Now  I  am  near 
out,  you  may  make  me  another  good  grisel  Bob."  ^ 

Indeed,  the  unkempt  population  with  its  rough 
and  ready  ways  disappointed  and  disgusted  him 
from  many  points  of  view.  The  country  itself,  he 
declared,  was  well  enough,  but  of  the  people  of  North 
Carolina  he  had  not  much  more  good  to  report  than 
had  others  of  their  critics  in  the  early  days.  Their 
farJts  revolted  him,  their  virtues  he  was  not  pre- 
pared to  understand.  Bona  terra,  mala  gens  was 
at  that  time  his  verdict. 

With  Governor  Johnston,  on  the-  other  hand,  he 
was  in  accord.  His  letters  to  the  Governor  had 
procured  him  an  invitation  to  Eden  House,  the  man- 
sion on  Salmon  Creek,  across  the  bay  from  Eden- 
ton,  inherited  by  Penelope  Johnston,  the  Governor's 
wife,  from  her  father.  Governor  Eden.  This  visit 
established  cordial  relations,  and  resulted  in  his 
being  asked  to  join  the  Governor  in  an  exploring 
expedition  up  the  Cape  Fear.  As  he  had  been  com- 
missioned to  select  lands  for  Mr.  TuUideph  and  Mr. 

1  Letter  to  Wm.  Guyther,  March  20,  1752. 


24  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Ellison  in  this  region,  the   invitation  was    oppor- 
tune. 

The  young  man's  care  of  Mr.  Ellison's  sons  is 
only  one  illustration  out  of  many  of  the  willingness 
with  which  he  undertook  the  charge  of  those  who 
had  any  claim  on  his  good  of&ces.  In  this  case  his 
pains  came  to  naught,  for  William  died  in  North 
Carolina  not  many  years  after  his  arrival,  and  An- 
drew returned  to  England. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO   WILLIAM  ELLISON 

Brunswick,  14'''  Feb^,  1735/6. 

Dear  Sir  —  ...  We  sail'd  from  Charles  town 
the  last  day  of  Dec'',  &  came  over  the  bar  of  Cape 
Fear  the  2^^  day  of  Jan""^  &  camp'd  ashore  all  night 
by  a  good  fire  in  y^  woods.  Next  day  we  got  up  to 
this  town.  I  intended  to  have  gone  up  to  Ne\''  town, 
Alias  New  Liverpool,  but  was  told  there  was  no 
house  there  to  be  had  except  I  built  one ;  so  w^as 
obhg'd  to  bring  all  ashore  here,  where  I  have  got  !S 
good  convenient  house  ^  on  rent,  which  I  shall  keep 
until  I  can  purchase  a  few  slaves  &  a  plantation  in 
the  country  where  I  can  have  all  kind  of  provisions 
of  my  own  raising.  Here  I  am  oblig'd  to  pay  no 
less  than  17  to  20/  P  bushel,  this  money,  for  corn,  & 
10, 12  &  14^  P  lb.  for  meat.  I  am  told  this  place  is 
every  bit  as  healthy  as  New  town.  There  is  a  great 
emulation  between  the  two  towns,  but  I  intend  to 
concern  my  self  with  neither,  but  throw  my  self  easily 
out  of  trade  into  y®  plantation. 
^  Roger  Moore's. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA     25 

As  to  your  son  William  I  have  the  pleasure  of 
giving  you  a  just  &  good  Acco^  of  his  behavior, 
which  has  been  very  discreet  &  sober  ever  since 
he  left  you.  While  at  Charlestown  he  lodg'd  & 
boarded  in  y®  same  house  with  us^  &  as  soon  as  my 
house  here  was  fitt'd  up  he  stay'd  with  me  till  we 
went  up  to  y^  Gov",  &  there  I  left  him  to  come  down 
to  court  with  his  Excellency  next  week.  The  only 
fault  that  I  &  every  body  else  has  to  him  is,  that  he 
has  not  pick't  up  a  common  (much  less  a  lawyer's) 
assurance,  yet,  the  want  of  which  I  tell  him  will  be 
a  vast  loss  to  him.  .  .  . 

I  have  supply' d  William  with  what  money  he 
want'd  &  shall  continue  so  to  do  as  he  has  occasion 
for  it ;  but  if  you  send  him  a  fresh  supply,  it  must 
be  in  some  thing  else  than  wigs,  for  I  have  not  been 
able  to  sell  one  of  them,  tho'  I  open'd  them  both  in 
Charles  town  &  here. 

When  I  was  at  Brompton  I  took  an  opportunity 
to  mention  your  land  to  y®  Gov"".  He  said  you  should 
have  it,  but  added  this  question,  "  what  could  you 
do  with  it  ?  "  For  he  did  not  beHeve  your  son  un- 
derstood how  to  manage  it.  I  answered  that  tho' 
he  did  not  I  had  another  of  your  sons  who  would 
probably  learn  something  of  husbandry  before  his 
time  was  out  with  me,  &  for  him  it  would  be  a  good 
beginning,  tho'  you  had  not  determin'd  [on]  whom 
to  settle  it.  As  I  go  up  y^  North  east  with  y®  Gov% 
shall  see  your  land  &  M""  TulHdeph's  laid  out  in  y® 
best  place  I  can.  I  have  not  yet  determin'd  whether 
to  take  any  for  my  self.     Sterling  are  not  nor  will 


26  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

for  some  time  be  easy  to  discharge  by  people  that 
have  their  effects  here.  Land  is  easier  to  be  pur- 
chased here  for  Currency  than  bills  on  England.  .  .  . 

You  are  mistaken.  We  are  not  deprived  of  the 
advantages  of  y^  gospell  preach'd,  for  we  have  y^  best 
minister  that  I  have  heard  in  America  to  preach  & 
read  prayers  to  us  every  2"^  or  3*^  Sunday  at  least,  & 
in  a  cold  day  a  good  fire  in  y®  church  ^  to  sit  by.  In 
these  &  many  other  respects  this  town  is  preferable 
to  New  town,  &  yet  I  believe  the  last  will  be  first  in 
a  little  time.  We  have  had  a  great  deal  of  snow  & 
cold  weather  since  we  came  here. 

I  shall  deliver  William  his  indentures,  &  put  him 
in  mind  to  look  out  for  his  50  acres.  If  he  can  find 
land,  he  may  have  10  times  that  quantity ;  if  not,  he 
will  get  none  that  is  worth  while,  nor  no  body  else, 
for  people  that  are  aquaint  with  y^  country  only 
know  where  y®  vacant  land  is,  so  they  get  a  warrant 
survey  &  patents  &  then  screw  as  much  as  they  can 
from  a  stranger  for  it,  who  in  his  turn  serves  others 
the  same  way. 

^  As  to  church  services,  it  may  be  said  that  ever  since  the  Bishop 
of  London  had,  in  1725,  extended  his  jurisdiction  to  the  American 
colonies,  churches  or  chapels  had  been  established  in  the  different 
counties  ;  but  to  get  and  keep  a  reputable  minister  had  been,  as  late 
as  1731,  a  difficult  matter.  In  that  year  Governor  Burrington  wrote, 
in  his  address  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  "  This  country  has  no 
orthodox  minister  legally  settled  ;  those  that  formerly  have  been  here 
generally  proved  so  very  bad  that  they  gave  people  offence  by  their 
vicious  lives." 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     27 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   DAVID   TULLIDEPH. 

Brunswick,  31  March,  1636. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Since  my  last  of  y®  21  Ult*'  have  been 
up  y®  North  East  branch  of  this  river  about  180 
miles  from  y^  mouth  of  it.  We  found  a  little  diffi- 
culty in  getting  up  &  down,  with  our  Canoes  which 
were  deep  loaded,  by  reason  of  logs  lying  across; 
but  where  y®  river  was  clear  we  had  6  foot  water  as 
far  as  we  went  &  an  easy  current.  There  is  not 
such  a  Quantity  of  land  in  any  part  of  this  country 
yet  disco v'd  so  good  as  y^  that  lyes  on  the  head  of 
y®  North  East  &  black  river,  whose  branches  enter- 
lock  one  another,  which  is  y®  centre  of  y®  province, 
&  in  all  probability  will  far  exceed  any  part  of  it 
were  there  but  industrious  people  enough  to  inhabit 
it.  But  notwithstanding  all  I  have  said  &  a  great 
deal  more  I  could  say  in  praise  of  it  y^  Gov""  thinks 
it  will  not  be  for  your  interest  to  take  up  any  land 
here  unless  you  come  to  live  on  it  yourself,  &  indeed 
I  am  of  y^  same  opinion,  for  I  observe  this  country 
even  exceeds  all  ever  I  heard  of  y®  West  Indies  for 
bad  Attorneys  &  overseers.  If  it  was  in  my  way 
to  overlook  your  plantation,  you  might  expect  to  be 
better  serv'd ;  but  I  do  not  intend  to  take  up  any 
land  within  100  miles  of  it  for  some  time,  till  I  see 
how  it  is  like  to  be  inhabit'd  &  improv'd,  &  I  am 
afraid  you  will  get  none  to  live  in  such  an  out  of 
y®  way  place  as  it  will  be  for  some  time  that  will  be 
strictly  honest  to  you,  &  you  are  oblig'd  to  clear 
about  60  acres  of  your  2000  within  3  years  after 
you  are  possessed  of  it  or  else  your  right  lapses.  .  .  . 


28  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

The  burden  laid  upon  trade  by  the  inflated  cur- 
rency and  by  the  almost  prohibitive  restrictions  im- 
posed by  Virginia  and  other  colonies  hastened  Mr. 
Murray  in  his  purchase  of  land.  On  a  plantation 
he  could  at  least  raise  food,  which  was  scarce  and 
hiffh,  and  becomins:  more  so  throuo^h  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  mouths  to  be  fed  ;  for  within  a  year 
of  his  arrival  came  the  advance  guard  of  a  great 
influx  of  Irish  and  Swiss  Protestants.  These  emi- 
grants, seeking  homes  in  North  Carolina,  were  many 
of  them  sent  or  brought  over  by  Murray's  friend 
and  correspondent,  Henry  McCulloh,  a  Scotchman ' 
who  later  came  to  Cape  Fear  as  "His  Majesty's 
Surveyor,  Inspector  and  Controller  of  the  Revenue 
and  Grants  of  Land."  ^ 

JAMES   MURKAY   TO   DAVID   TULLIDEPH. 

Newtox,  Jan^  10'^  1736/7. 

...  I  can  write  you  nothing  Entertaining  from 
this,  but  from  the  number  of  the  Irish  and  Swiss 
that  are  soon  expected  here  some  of  us  imagine  the 
prosperity  of  the  country  and  happiness  of  its  in- 

^  Williamson  says,  in  his  History  of  North  CaroZm a,  that  McCulloh 
"  speculated  largely  in  crown  lands  with  a  view  of  paying  for  them 
by  importing  settlers,"  and  that  his  son,  Henry  Eustace  McCulloh, 
*'  reported  between  three  and  four  hundred  persons  thus  brought  into 
the  Provinces." 

In  the  Life  and  Letters  of  James  Iredell^  McCulloh  is  described  as 
having  been  "  cherished  by  his  friends  with  affection  and  regard." 
The  same  book  says,  further,  that  he  impaired  his  large  fortune  by 
furnishing  means  to  his  immigrants,  but  that  his  son,  who  was  appar- 
ently a  man  of  a  very  different  stamp,  succeeded  in  making  good  his 
claim  to  about  sixty-four  thousand  acres  of  land.  Henry  McCulloh 
was  an  uncle  of  James  Iredell. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     29 

habitants  in  general  to  be  at  hand.  Others  are  in 
dread  and  confusion,  fearing  an  end  will  be  put  to 
their  Lording  it  over  the  King's  heritage/ 

When  I  first  came  in  ^  I  rented  a  house  of  Roger 
Moore's,  to  whom  my  behaviour  and  mtimacy  with 
some  gentleman  was  so  disagreeable  that  he  told  me 
to  turn  out  before  I  had  been  3/4  of  a  year  in  the 
house.  Then  I  bought  a  house  and  lot  in  this  town 
where  I  now  hve,  and  immediately  after  purchased 
a  plantation  within  fifteen  miles  of  about  500  acres. 
The  one  cost  me  £1000  and  the  other  500£,  this 
Currency.  With  both  I  am  very  well  satisfied,  and 
since  I  cannot  make  remittances  to  carry  on  trade 
I  intend  to  turn  planter  as  soon  as  possible. 

Through  Mr.  McCuUoh  Mr.  Murray  set  in  motion 
an  application  for  the  position  of  collector  of  the 
port,  an  appointment  which  in  1739  he  received. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  since  the  time  was  the  reign 
of  George  II.,  when  bribery  in  matters  of  this  sort 
had  not  yet  fallen  into  disrepute,  he  expected  to 
pay  a  reasonable  amount  for  the  appointment.  The 
reasonable  amount,  £200  in  the  following  letter, 
shrinks  to  one  half  that  sum  in  the  next,  in  view  of 
"  ye  precariousness  of  ye  post  and  ye  uncertainty  of 
people's  fives  in  this  country."  ^    Commenting  upon 

1  This  is  an  allusion,  of  course,  to  the  Moores. 

2  To  the  Cape  Fear  region. 

3  « .  .  .  Many  have  I  seen  since  I  have  been  here,  hearty  &  Gay  & 
Brisk  one  week  &  the  next  attended  to  the  grave.  This  is  a  dismal 
climate  &  when  one  gets  sickly  here  I  have  hardly  ever  known  an 
instance  of  his  recovering."  Macdowell,  in  Colonial  Records  of 
North  Carolina^  vol.  vi.  p.  977. 


30  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tills  application,  he  wrote  on  the  same  day  to  Mr. 
Ellison :  "  You  '11  hear  from  Mr.  McCulloh  of  a 
chimerical  scheme  of  mine  in  behalf  of  your  son 
and  myself.  I  call  it  chimerical  because  it  is  putting 
in  for  a  Hving  man's  post  who  must  first  be  dead, 
and  it  is  a  court  preferment,  which  imply s  more  un- 
certainty than  the  other." 

JAMES  MUKRAY  TO  HENRY  MCCULLOH. 

Brunswick,  May  3, 1736. 
Since  my  last  of  y®  24th  Feb'"^  I  Have  not  had  an 
opportunity  of  writing  you,  for  just  before  I  came 
down  from  y®  North  East  Cap*  Keit  sail'd.  I  then 
promis'd  you  an  Acco*  of  our  expedition,  but  must 
defer  it  till  I  have  time  to  write  our  Journal  out 
fair,  which  will  send  you  by  a  vessel  that  will  sail 
hence  in  a  little  time.  Y®  people  here  have  got  y® 
South  Carolina  notion  that  they  are  not  oblig'd  to 
pay  residing  merchants  for  their  goods  in  less  than 
a  twelve  month,  so  that  I  shall  hardly  be  able  to 
remitt  any  thing  this  year.  Indeed  it  will  not  be 
much  to  my  loss,  for  their  only  staple  commodities, 
Viz.  pitch,  tar  &  turpentine  are  as  dear  here  as  I 
imagine  they  will  be  cheap  at  home ;  &  if  I  delay 
till  next  crop  I  may  come  in  for  a  little  rice,  of  which 
there  is  only  500  barrels  made  on  this  river  this 
year,  &  next  crop  we  expect  1500  or  2000  barrels. 
I  was  up  at  Brompton  last  week,  where  I  saw  y® 
Gov""  &  Cap*  Woodard  in  good  health.  Y®  last  has 
had  a  gentle  fit  of  y®  gout  since  he  came  from  y® 
north  East,  but  that  expedition  was  of  service  to  his 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH'  CAROLINA     31 

Excellency's  health,  &  Cap*  Innes/  &  I  grew  fat 
upon  it.  My  business  at  Brompton  was  to  advise 
about  y®  employment  of  M''  Tullideph's  negroes, 
which  he  intends  to  send  in  very  soon,  for  whom 
have  come  to  a  resolution  (if  my  instructions  will 
permitt)  to  get  a  plantation  within  y®  settlement 
there,  to  employ  them  untill  y®  rich  land  is  settled 
by  some  familys  from  Ireland.  Now  I  have  men- 
tioned the  Irish  I  cannot  help  giving  you  an  in- 
stance how  much  some  gentlemen  here  endeavour  to 
defeat  all  y®  Gov"  Designs  for  settling  y^  country. 
Roofer  Moore  I  am  told  has  wrote  to  M""  Dobbs  that 
it  will  not  be  his  interest  to  concern  himself  in  land 
here  or  something  to  y*  purpose.  His  view  in  which 
is  that  if  y^  Irish  came  over  here  they  will  be  a 
weight  against  him  in  y®  Assembly  &  will  by  Culti- 
vating y®  land  confirm  M'^  Dobbs  right  to  what  he 
would  be  content  to  take  y®  advantage  of  a  lapse  of, 
in  case  a  new  Gov"*  should  be  appointed,  which  all  y® 
blank  patent  gentry  are  in  great  hopes  of.  M""  Soli- 
vol  has  been  lately  appointed  Collector  &  searcher 
of  this  port,  who  is  just  a  dying  of  a  dropsy.  If 
that  could  be  got  either  for  Mr.  Ellison  or  me,  or 
both,  one  to  be  principal  &  y®  other  deputy,  you 
would  do  us  a  particular  piece  of  service.  There  is 
£65  V^  Ann  Sterling  Sallery  beside  fees  here,  which 
may  amount  to  near  100  P'"  Ann  in  all.  What 
money  you  may  have  occasion  to  apply  in  presents, 
not  exceeding  <£200,  shall  be  faithfully  paid  you  as 
soon  as  possible,  &  if  y®  Comission  is  in  my  name 

1  James  Innes,  afterwards  Colonel  Innes. 


32  JAISIES  MUKRAY,  LOYALIST 

your  security  shall  be  reliev'd  by  gentlemen  of  sub- 
stance either  here  or  in  Scotland,  &  if  M'"  Ellison 
will  go  half  y®  charges  and  use  his  interest  to  obtain 
it  I  obhge  my  self  to  make  his  son  WilHam  Deputy 
&  give  him  half  y®  fees  &  half  y®  sterling  sallery.  I 
do  not  expect  I  have  any  friends  but  you  two  in 
town  at  y®  season  this  will  reach  you  to  apply  to.  .  .  . 

The  ^^  blank  patent  gentry/'  alluded  to  in  the 
preceding  letter,  are,  again,  the  Moores  and  their 
friends.  The  term  probably  arose  during  the  alter- 
cation between  Johnston  and  the  holders  of  certain 
grants  of  land  made  by  former  governors.  During 
the  Proprietary  rule  patents  for  North  Carolina 
lands  were  kept  on  hand  in  the  secretary's  office 
ready  for  use.  These  patents  were  made  out  in  due 
form,  but  with  the  grantees'  names,  the  number  of 
acres,  the  description  of  the  lands,  and  the  sums  to 
be  paid  left  blank,  to  be  disposed  of  and  filled  up 
"  just  as  the  Lords  Proprietors  thought  fit."  Even 
before  the  Proprietary  rule  came  to  an  end  govern- 
ors were  forbidden  to  make  any  more  grants  of  land, 
but  several  did  in  fact  use  the  blank  patents  long 
after  the  land  office  was  closed,  and  in  some  in- 
stances after  the  king  had  taken  the  province  into 
his  own  hands.  Governor  Johnston  early  came  into 
conflict  with  those  who  held  land  under  these  pat- 
ents, the  invalidity  of  which  he  dwelt  upon  with 
insistence,  and  a  bitter  quarrel  ensued.^ 

Mr.  Murray's  letters  naturally  present  the  Gov- 

1  See  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina^  vol.  iv.  p.  v. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     33 

ernor's  side  in  these  disputes,  which  derive  their 
main  interest  from  the  fact  that  they  were  early 
examples  of  the  long  struggle  between  English 
authority  and  American  self-rule. 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   HENRY  MCCULLOH. 

Brunswick,  Cape  Fear.    July  8th,  1736. 

Since  my  last  I  have  your  favour  dated  y®  12th 
March,  with  a  very  agreeable  postscript  which  I 
should  be  very  glad  to  see  accomplish' d,  for  if  things 
in  this  country  are  not  in  a  better  situation  during 
Mr  Johnstons  Governm*,  I  shall  almost  despair  of  it. 

By  a  vessel  which  will  sail  directly  to  your  port, 
in  about  3  weeks,  I  intend  to  send  you  a  cask  of 
skins  which  is  all  y®  remittance  I  have  got  out  of 
£4800  Currency,  value  of  goods  sold  since  my 
arrival,  I  do  not  reckon  Cash,  of  which  I  have  re- 
ceived about  £900,  a  Remittance.  I  have  more 
than  half  my  goods  yet  on  hand,  which  are  no  pain 
to  me,  as  none  of  them  are  perishable  but  some 
cloath  &  stockings  which  I  can  easily  take  care  of. 
As  y®  most  necessary  things  sell  first,  y®  remainder 
of  my  cargoe  will  want  an  assortment  to  help  it  of, 
which  should  have  desir'd  you  to  send,  according  to 
y®  list  annex' d,  had  I  been  able  to  clear  old  scores 
with  you.  Instead  of  that  I  have  laid  a  new  demand 
on  you,  in  y®  affair  of  y®  Collector.  If  you  have 
not,  before  this  reaches  you,  made  some  advances  in 
that  affair,  I  desire  you  would  not  expend  above  one 
hundred  pounds  about  it.  That,  on  second  thoughts, 
I  think  is  enough,  considering  y®  precariousness  of 


34  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

y  post  &  y®  uncertainty  of  people's  lives  in  this 
country.  If  you  do  succeed  in  that  affair  at  a  con- 
siderable expence,  &  if  my  bill  on  M^  Dunbar  is  not 
honour'd,  I  desire  you  will  not  send  y  goods  men- 
tion'd.  If  otherwise,  I  leave  it  to  you,  to  send  them 
or  not  as  you  find  convenient.  I  intend  as  soon  as 
I  can  secure  enough  of  Such  tar  &  Turpentine  to 
send  for  a  vessel  from  New  England  ^  and  load  her 
to  send  home  to  you. 

Newton,  Nov.  6, 1736. 
.  .  .  Last  week  I  was  up  the  North  East  to  the 
lower  part  of  your  land  setting  the  Carpenter  to  work 
to  finish  two  houses  there  (I  mean  at  Camp  Innes) 
for  the  reception  of  the  Swiss  Mess"  Hutchinson  & 
Grimkie  have  sent  in.^  They  were  here  about  3 
days,  during  which  time  his  Excell^  our  good  Gov'^ 
took  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  provide  for  them  &  to 
assure  them  they  should  have  every  thing  to  their 
satisfaction  till  they  were  settled.  With  which  they 
went  up  last  Tuesday  very  well  pleased.  .  .  .  Since 
I  last  wrote  you  have  bought  a  house  &  lot  in 
this  town  &  a  plantation  in  the  country  about  15 
miles  from  this,  joining  on  Cap*  Rowan,  200  acres 
of  the  500  land  as  good  as  his  that  he  values  at  20/ 
Ste'"  P  acre.     The  other  300  acres  are  fit  for  build- 

^  This  illustrates  the  backwardness  of  North  Carolina  in  possessing 
means  of  transportation. 

*  "  There  are  now  forty  Swiss  people,"  Mr.  Murray  wrote  in  this 
month  to  Andrew  Bennet,  "  the  beginning  of  six  thousand  contracted 
for  from  that  country,  which,  with  a  great  number  of  Irish  expected 
next  year,  will  raise  our  country  in  a  hurry." 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA      35 

ing  on  &  for  corn  &  pasture.  It  cost  me  about 
,£30  Ste"",  as  I  sold  my  goods,  but  when  I  shall  turn 
planter  God  knows.  It  will  not  be  till  I  can  turn 
some  Money  out  of  the  country  to  buy  some  negroes. 
But  first  I  ought  to  be  even  in  your  books,  for  if 
trade  is  not  grown  much  worse  at  home  I  am  sensi- 
ble you  must  be  a  looser  by  mine  &  every  other 
debt  that  you  get  no  more  than  5  P  C  by  Par.  I 
wish  I  could  write  you  something  agreable  of  the 
country  or  rather  the  present  set  of  inhabitants,  for 
the  place  it  self  is  well  enough  were  it  peopled  by 
frugal,  honest,  industrious  people  who  would  not 
sacrifice  the  general  good  of  the  province  for  the 
obtaining  their  own  private  ends  or  would  not  be 
so  stupid  as  to  be  led  by  the  nose  by  those  that 
would.  Then  I  might  say  without  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  that  this  Province  would  soon  be  one  of 
the  best  in  America.  .  .  . 

Meantime  the  growth  of  Newtown  had  begun. 
James  Innes,  like  Mr.  Murray,  was  one  of  the  earH- 
est  settlers  of  the  town. 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   HENRY  MCCULLOH. 

Newton,  Jan^  10*\  1736/7. 
.  .  .  Your  Swiss  famihes  are  very  well,  but  lost 
one  their  men  in  a  fever  at  Brunswick  &  another  old 
man  since  they  went  up.  I  have  agreed  for  Indian 
corn  at  12/,  pease  at  20/,  &  potatoes  at  7/6  P 
bushell,  enough  to  serve  them  till  next  crop.  Indian 
corn  is  since  risen  to  15/  &  is  like  to  go  to  20/.    Rice 


U^ 


36  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

at  £4  PI  &  hardly  to  be  had.  The  Swiss  have  been 
very  uneasy,  for  their  land  not  being  run  out  by 
reason  of  the  only  surveyor  that  could  do  it  his  being 
gone  into  the  other  county  where  he  was  detained 
by  an  illness ;  but  now  he  is  returned,  and  will  settle 
their  bounds  next  week. 

We  are  very  upish  upon  Cap*  Woodard,  M''  John- 
ston, Cap*  Rowan  and  Cap*  Innes  each  of  them  pur- 
chasing a  good  lot  in  this  town,  which  thrives  a 
pace. 

The  pioneer's  descent,  however,  from  great  expec- 
tations to  the  bed-rock  of  reality  was  being  made 
by  Mr.  Murray  even  while  he  noted  the  country's 
growth.  He  felt  strongly  the  peculiar  disadvantages 
from  which  North  Carolina  suffered. 

JAMES   MUKRAY   TO   JOHN   MURRAY.^ 

Newton,  Cape  Fear,  Jan^  lO''^  1736/7. 

M^  John  Murray 

Hon^  Sir,  —  It  is  no  small  comfort  to  me  to  find 
by  yours  of  the  14*^  June  &  other  letters  that  I  am 
not  yet  forgot  by  my  best  friends,  tho'  in  this  re- 
mote corner  of  the  world,  and  that  they  have  a  just 
opinion  of  my  concern  for  them  by  giving  me  an 
Acco*  of  their  welfare  &  other  occurrencies,  than 
which  nothing  can  be  more  agreable. 

I  wish  I  could  give  you  equal  satisfaction  by  my 
letters,  but  alas  it  is  not  to  be  expected  from  a  new 
country  such   as   this  where   you  know  no    body, 

1  A  son  of  John  Murray  of  Philiphaugh. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     37 

whence  we  can  write  of  nothing  so  well  as  the  incon- 
veniencies  we  suffer  in  reality  for  the  advantages  we 
form  to  our  selves  in  imagination ;  and  was  I  to  un- 
dertake to  give  you  a  description  of  the  place,  it 
would  only  be  darkening  instead  of  enlivening  your 
Idea  of  the  continent.  I  shall  therefore  confine  my 
self  to  answer  your  questions,  what  trade  have  we  & 
what  is  my  scheme  of  settlement.  ...  As  the  pre-  / 
sent  staple  commodities  are  very  low  in  Europe,' Eu- 
ropean goods  are  very  high  here  and  our  payments, 
being  slow  and  but  in  small  quantities  at  a  time,  will 
not  defray  the  charge  of  a  freight  from  Britain. 
We  therefore  send  our  peddling  to  some  or  other  of 
the  neighbouring  colonies,  for  which  we  have  Euro- 
pean or  other  goods  at  their  price,  and  the  necessity 
of  our  country  obliges  them  to  give  almost  what 
advance  the  importer  pleases  on  the  goods  he  thus 
buys  at  second  hand.  J  We  have  .£150,000  of  bills 
emitted  by  the  publick,  which  are  current  in  all  pay- 
ments, and  the  King  takes  them  for  his  quitrents  at 
the  rate  of  7  for  1  Ster^,  but  the  merchant  has  for 
his  goods  from  12  to  20  for  1  Ster^.  These  bills 
are  lent  out  upon  good  security  at  6  PC*'  P.  an  which 
interest  with  an  impost  on  liquors  is  allotted  to  the 
sinking  of  the  principal,  and  so  long  as  this  Gov''  is 
continued  he  is  resolved  to  observe  that  act  &  to 
grant  no  more  bills  for  Currency  till  the  present  by 
it's  scarceness  comes  to  its  true  value  of  7  for  1. 
Thereby  he  and  all  the  king's  officers  who  are  paid 
their  sallaries  here  at  that  rate  will  receive  the  worth 
of  them  \  thereby  the  merchant  who  sells  his  goods 


38  JAIMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

at  the  present  prices  and  has  his  debts  outstanding 
with  10  pC*"  P.  ^^  accrewing  on  them  will  be  a  great 
gainer.  The  Merchant  has  another  chance  of  turn- 
ing his  cargoe  to  a  good  account.  He  sells  his  goods 
at  a  high  price  for  the  reason  above  observed.  The 
country  in  a  year  or  two  is  well  settled  by  Irish 
and  Swiss,  who  in  a  year  or  two  more  make  such 
commodities  as  are  valuable  at  home  and  enrich 
the  country  here.  Now  for  what  I  am  to  do  in  the 
mean  time.  I  have  sold  about  2/3  of  my  cargo,  for 
which  we  have  got  a  pretty  large  sum  of  our  Cur- 
rency in  debts  outstanding  and  in  bills  received. 
Was  I  to  press  speedy  remittances,  it  would  be  very 
much  to  my  disadvantage.  I  have  provided  my  self 
with  a  plantation  in  the  country  within  Fifteen  miles 
of  the  place  which  in  all  probability  will  be  the  prin- 
cipal town  on  this  river,  if  not  the  Metropolis  of  the 
province,  that  I  intend  to  settle  as  soon  as  I  can  get 
Negroes.  Then  I  shall  live  very  well  upon  my  own 
industry  and  save  the  interest  of  my  stock.  For  all 
my  complaints  a  man  with  a  moderate  fortune  &  tol- 
lerable  management  may  live  very  happily  and  plen- 
tifully here.  I  cannot  say  he  has  it  in  his  power  to 
make  a  great  fortune  at  once. 

Barbara  Murray  married,  in  less  than  two  years 
after  coming  over,  Thomas  Clark,  a  young  man 
thoroughly  liked  by  her  brother  and  associated  with 
him  in  his  public  and  private  interests.  In  the  same 
summer  (1737)  Mr.  Murray  received  news  of  the 
death  of  his  mother,  which  left  the  younger  chil- 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     39 

dren  still  more  dependent  on  his  care.  This  ne- 
cessitated a  journey  to  Scotland,  which  he  accom- 
plished in  the  ensuing  spring.  The  settling  of  Mrs. 
Murray's  estate  and  other  matters  detained  him  for 
nearly  a  year,  during  which  time  he  was  much  at 
Chesters  and  renewed  his  intimacy  with  his  Bennet 
cousins,  particularly  with  Barbara.  On  returning  to 
America  he  brought  with  him  his  younger  brother 
and  sister,  William,  sixteen,  and  Elizabeth,  not  quite 
fourteen,  years  of  age.  Elizabeth  proved  so  capable 
that  she  was  before  long  installed  as  James's  house- 
keeper, and  thus  began  that  affectionate  intimacy 
between  them  that  was  perhaps  the  most  vital  and 
enduring  element  in  the  life  of  each. 

A  portion  of  the  small  inheritance  left  to  William 
and  Elizabeth  he  now  invested  in  negroes.^  For 
himself,  although  the  disadvantage  of  trade  had 
been  strongly  impressed  upon  him,  he  had  been  un- 
able to  resist  the  temptation  of  bringing  over  a  cargo 
of  goods  even  larger  than  his  former  venture,  as  the 
succeeding  letter  to  his  brother-in-law  relates. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  THOMAS  CLARK. 

London,  23  Decemb"',  1738. 
...  In  my  last  I  told  you  of  my  brother  &  Sis- 
ter's intention   to  go  over  with  me,  who  are  now 
here  for  that  purpose.     I  said  also  that  nothing  was 
coming   to  you   from  my  mother's   Estate.     Have 

1  Negroes,  since  the  very  earliest  days  of  the  country,  when  slaves 
worked  under  Sir  John  Yeamans,  in  the  Cape  Fear  settlement,  had 
proved  the  speediest  means  of  gaining  wealth. 


40  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

notwithstanding  got  £20  st^  for  you  there,  which  is 
as  much  as  the  two  younger  childring  have  got. 

You  '11  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that,  instead 
of  my  Scheme  of  retired  life,  am  going  to  involve 
myself  in  the  Cape  Fear  trade  deeper  than  my  self 
or  any  of  my  predecessors  or  contemporaries  have 
done  hitherto,  &  am  now  fitting  out  a  Cargo  of 
above  £1500  sf  to  begin  with,  &  have  chartered  a 
ship  to  load  derectly  back  with  such  Commodities 
as  can  be  got.  If  our  Gentlemen  Planters  have  a 
mind  to  set  their  trade  on  the  footing  of  South  Caro- 
lina now  they  '11  have  a  fair  opportunity.  If  I  find 
they  are  not  ready  &  willing  to  encourage  it,  espe- 
cially in  the  loading  of  this  ship,  I  shall  set  down 
my  little  family  with  you  &  go  away  without  break- 
ing bulk  to  South  Carolina  or  Georgia,  for  my  cargo 
is  suited  for  either  of  these  places,  &  shall  come 
back  with  the  refuse  of  my  cargo  (if  any),  for  which 
I  shall  expect  2  &  3000  P  Cent,  as  other  people  as 
well  as  I  used  (&  I  presume  still  continue)  to  sell 
for.  Let  them  pay  when  they  will.  But  I  hope 
this  will  not  be  the  case  &  that  every  body  who 
do's  not  want  to  enrich  themselves  by  the  ruin  of 
the  Planters  &  Country  in  General  will  encourage 
so  Laudable  a  design  &  will  be  as  ready  to  pay  me 
their  Commodities  in  merch*able  order  as  I  shall  be 
to  sell  them  goods  useful,  fresh  &  reasonable  as 
they  can  wish.  At  all  Hazards  you  may  fit  up  my 
store  in  the  same  manner  as  M""  Drys  with  all  pos- 
sible dispatch,  that  is  the  whole  22  foot  by  18  on 
the  east  end  of  the  house  to  be  lined  with  boards 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     41 

on  the  side  &  plastered  on  the  siUng,  to  be  shelved 
as  far  as  the  door  from  the  east  end,  &  counter  from 
side  to  side  with  a  board  to  fold  down  in  the  middle. 
I  hope  the  cellar  is  done  under  neath,  and  the  sashes 
according  to  the  dementions  I  sent  you  by  Wimble 
ready  to  put  in  the  glass.  Let  sashes  be  done  for 
all  the  windows  in  the  store,  and  a  door  for  the 
store  cellar.  I  am  affraid  I  have  shaped  you  more 
work  than  you  '11  sew  till  I  see  you,  but  you  '11  do 
all  you  can.  Give  notice  of  my  intentions  to  leave 
this  the  middle  of  next  month  with  a  Vessel  and 
Cargo  bound  derectly  to  you-ward,  that  those  that 
owe  me  as  well  as  those  that  do  not  may  have  their 
goods  ready.  Great  encouragement  will  be  given 
to  rice  &  tar  chused  in  full  bound  barrels,  turpen- 
tine &  pitch  as  usual.  I  have  bespoke  a  petty  auger 
from  South  Carolina,  which  at  all  events  cannot  miss 
to  sell  if  not  wanted  by  me.  You  need  put  yo''  self 
to  no  inconveniences  about  moving  from  my  house 
in  a  hurry,  for  I  shall  have  none  but  my  brother  & 
Sister  &  one,  two  or  three  more  in  my  family,  for 
whom  there  will  be  room  enough  with  you  for  a 
while. 

I  have  also  sent  their  money  in  value  to  south 
Carolina  in  order  to  buy  negroes  for  them,  most 
part  of  which  I  design  to  be  under  your  manage- 
ment. 

M""  Douglass  has  taken  the  same  method  with  his 
in  order  to  sit  down  in  a  plantation.  So,  whether 
I  shall  be  the  better  for  the  Country  or  not,  it  is 
plain  the  country  will  be  the  better  for  me,  &,  I 


42  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

hope,  so  will   my  friends  for  being  recommended 
thither.  .  .  . 


Mr.  Murray  had  by  this  time,  aided  by  absence 
and  his  natural  tolerance,  come  to  wish  to  be  on  a 
friendlier  footing  with  his  Cape  Fear  neighbors. 
He  wrote  to  John  Porter  ^  from  London,  Dec.  20, 
1738:  — 

"  I  have  observed  (in  you)  a  justness  of  thought 
and  generosity  of  temper  that  I  would  endeavor  to 
imitate  wherever  I  found  it.  If  some  gentlemen  of 
our  acquaintance  had  with  the  same  good  nature 
overlooked  a  zeal  (perhaps  a  Httle  imprudent)  for 
one's  friends  I  should  have  had  more  friends  in 
Cape  Fear,  but  as  it  is,  I  am  sensible  there  is  and 
will  subsist  a  Dryness  between  some  certain  Gentle- 
men and  me  until  the  unhappy  Differences  of  the 
Province  are  reconciled." 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1739  he  was  again  in 
North  Carolina,  having  brought  with  him  John 
Rutherford,  who  afterward  became  receiver-general 
of  the  province. 

JAMES   MUKRAY  TO    JAMES   RUTHERFORD. 

Cape  Fear,  Sep*  4,  1739. 

That  I  may  be  as  Good  or  Rather  as  troublesom 
as  I  promised  in  Writing  you  once  in  3  Months, 
take  this  for  my  first,  which  happens  to  be  about 
that  time  Since  my  Arrival. 

After  our  Departure  from  England  I  expected  to 
^  Of  Newtown. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     43 

See  Cousin  John  Very  Sea  Sick,  but  instead  of  y\ 
He  was  y«  only  person  o£  all  the  Cabin  Passengers 
that  was  not  Sea  Sick,  &  took  a  most  compassionate 
Care  of  us  in  our  Distress.     That  he  might  not  Be 
Idle  in  his  Passage  I  Set  him  to  .  .  .  [a]  Book  of 
practical  Geometry,  in  which  he  took  Much  DeHght 
&  Made  Great  Proficience  for  y"  time.     Since  my 
Arrival  my  head  has  been  so  much  taken  up  with 
Business  that  I  cannot  go  on  with  him ;  but  when 
he  is  not  imployed  in  y^  Store  he  applies  to  it  him- 
self, [so]  that  with  mine  or  Some  other's  help  next 
winter  I  doubt  not  of  his  being  able  to  apply  Ma- 
thematicks   to  most  of  y"  Common    Occasions   for 
them  in  life,  particularly  Surveying  &  Gauging,  two 
usef  ull  Sorts  with  us.     Dehvering  out  Goods,  Writ- 
ing in  y^  Waste  Books  &  copying  Letters   is   his 
Cheif   imployment  at  present.     I   am  now  got   to 
Sep'  the  6%  &  pretty  well   recovered   of  what   I 
thought  a  Severe  fit  of  the  Rheumatism,  which  has 
laid  me  up  ever  Since  I  wrote  y^  forgoing  &  makes 
me  Glad  now  to  walk  with  Stilts,  what  I  was  never 
used  to  before.     If  you  have  a  Mind  to  Send  any 
wearing  apperel  or  linnen,  y^  most  useful  Article  to 
Johny,  you  may  Ship  it  &  Send  f  Receipt  to  M' 
Henry  Houson  Merchant  in  London,  who  will  for- 
ward what  you  Send.     If  you  chuse  to  Send  any 
thing  for  Sale,  Scots  plad  about  18^  or  20^  p'  Ell, 
brown  Linnen  from  3"^  to  18*^  p'^  Ell,  Coarse  &  Mid- 
ling  Diaper,  these   fit   for  y^  Summer  &  Winter. 
Galacheils  Gray  at  6^  or  7^  p'^  Ell  to  be  here  in 
Sep^  or  October  for  Winter  only.     What  you  buy 


44  JA]MES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

by  y®  Scots  Ell,  let  it  be  measured  by  an  exact  3 
foot  allowing  a  thumb,  &  y^  Measure  put  on  y* 
Piece.  As  I  am  an  Invalid  &  have  other  letters  to 
■write  yet,  I  must  not  Delay.  We  are  in  Hopes  this 
war  will  Drive  some  of  y®  Southern  Settlements  to 
us.     'T  is  a  Bad  wind  blows  no  Body  Good. 

The  Spanish  War,  alluded  to  in  the  last  letter, 
presented  to  William  an  opening  for  a  military 
career.  North  Carolina  had  raised  four  companies 
for  General  Oglethorpe's  expedition  against  St.  Au- 
gustine. That  expedition  having  failed,  the  North 
Carolina  contingent  was  to  be  sent  to  join  the  Eng- 
lish forces  at  Jamaica,  and  with  it  were  to  go  Cap- 
tain James  Innes,  Mr.  Murray's  "  most  intimate 
friend  next  to  T.  Clark,"  and  also  two  cousins  of 
the  Murrays,  Lieutenant  Archibald  Douglas  and 
Lieutenant  Pringle.  William  was,  in  his  brother's 
opinion,  unfitted  for  a  planter's  life.  On  the  other 
hand,  his  inheritance  was  sufficient  to  procure  him  a 
commission,  and  an  opportunity  was  now  offered  to 
enter  the  army  under  Captain  Innes's  special  care. 
At  Jamaica,  moreover,  he  would  find  his  brother 
John,  graduated  from  his  "  studies  of  pharmacy  and 
surgery,"  and  appointed  surgeon's  mate  on  board 
the  Tilbury,  English  man-of-war.  So,  with  all  these 
advantages  on  his  side,  and  further  fortified  by  a 
letter  to  John  Stuart,  Aide-de-camp  to  Lord  Cath- 
cart,  William  set  out  for  the  war. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     45 

JAMES   MURRAY  TO   CAPT.   JAMES   INNES. 

Wilmington,  20th  Nov!,  1740. 

Dr.  Sr.  .  .  .  My  brother  John,  Surgeon's  mate 
on  board  the  Tilbury  man  of  War,  I  have  desired  to 
apply  to  you,  as  well  for  advice  as  for  some  money, 
if  you  find  it  will  be  of  service  to  him,  either  to  pro- 
mote him,  preserve  or  Eecover  his  health,  or  to  supply 
him  with  necessarys  and  a  little  pocket  money  if  his 
pay  is  not  sufficient.  I  desire  you  may  inquire  how 
much  of  his  own  Money  he  has  taken  up,  and  how 
he  has  Managed  it,  that  you  may  the  better  judge 
of  his  economy.  You  '11  likewise  supply  my  brother 
Billie  with  what  you  think  necessary.  I  leave  him 
intirely  to  your  care,  hoping  also  that  his  cousins 
the  Lieutenants  will  be  kind  to  him. 

It  is  out  of  my  power  to  give  a  Greater  instance 
of  my  confidence  in  and  good  opinion  of  you  than 
I  have  done  by  sending  hun  along  with  you.  I  do 
hereby  impower  you  to  engage  as  far  as  his  (Billy's) 
whole  fortune  which  is  one  hundred  pounds  Ster- 
ling, in  buying  a  commission.  Land,  or  Negroes  or 
anything  Else  that  you  think  will  be  for  his  Advan- 
tage, and  He  approves  of  it. 

JAMES   MURRAY  TO   JOHN  MURRAY. 
To  M'  John  Murray,  Surgeon's  Mate  On  board  the  Tilbury  Man 
of  War,  at  Jamaica  or  Elsewhere,  P  William  Murray. 

Cape  Fear,  November  13'h,  1740. 

Dear  John  :  ...  As  this  goes  with  your  brother 
William,  I  have  the  less  Occassion  to  be  particular 
in  anything  that  relates  to  us  here.     I  have  only  to 


46  JAJVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

desire  that  in  Case  he  should  be  sick  you  will  take 
all  possible  Care  of  him.  If  you  Should  have  any 
emergent  occasion  for  Money  either  to  forward  your 
promotion  or  recover  your  health,  I  have  desired 
Cap*  Innes  to  advance  you  Some.  It  will  require 
much  of  your  Care  and  Attention  to  chuse  Your 
Company  —  Men  of  Sense,  Sobriety  and  Good  Man- 
ners —  to  avoid  the  Extravagance  of  many,  but  not 
to  be  so  very  frugal  as  to  keep  no  Company  at  all. 
Cap*  Innes,  I  hope,  will  take  notice  of  you,  and  is 
very  able  (as  I  know  by  Experience)  to  give  you 
good  advice.  I  have  some  thoughts  of  Going  home 
next  Spring,  but  that  resolution  will  take  Effect  or 
not  according  to  the  letters  I  shaU  receive  from 
thence.     I  am 

Dear  John 
your  most  affectionate  Brother 

JAMES  MUKRAY  TO   MRS.   BENNET   OF   CHESTERS. 

Cape  Fear,  Sept'  1740. 
...  It  would  be  too  tiresome  to  you  to  be  trou- 
bled with  a  Kepetition  of  the  several  Particulars  in 
Your  Letter,  how  much  some  of  them  pleased  me. 
You,  who  know  me  and  my  Affection  for  my 
friends,  may  easier  Imagine  than  I  can  Express. 
And  if  others  Gave  an  Account  of  Accidents  and 
Ommissions  that  are  not  so  Agreeable,  it  is  what  I 
lay  my  Ace*  with  to  hear  in  almost  every  Letter ;  for 
if  the  Accidents  in  human  Life  are  by  a  wise  provi- 
dence for  good  purposes  interlarded  with  bitter  and 
Sweet,  Letters  will  bring  ace*  of  these  Accidents  just 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     47 

as  they  turn  out.  But  to  retm'n  to  my  letter.  In 
my  last  to  my  uncle  I  wrote  of  the  Scituation  of  my 
Affairs  here  and  that  I  was  winding  up  my  bottom 
as  fast  I  Could,  with  an  Intent  to  go  home  next 
Spring  if  some  persons  with  whom  my  Cheif  busi- 
ness is  will  take  the  trouble  to  advise  that  it  is 
proper ;  but  I  have  much  to  Complain  of  the  Lazi- 
ness of  Some  Correspondents. 

Your  letter  to  Betty  gave  great  joy.  She  is  now 
my  only  Housekeeper  and  entered  that  Station  the 
beginning  of  this  week  just  after  my  return  from 
the  north.  You  have  long  ago  heard  the  News  of 
my  Sister  Clark  having  a  son.  I  have  only  to  tell 
you  that  he  lately  entered  the  Christian  list  by  the 
Name  of  James.  Cap*  James  Innes  and  I  were  his 
God-Fathers. 

I  wrote  my  Uncle  that  M'"  Douglass  was  to  go 
Lieutenant  to  Cap*  Innes.  Since  that  M""  William 
Pringle,  Clifton's  Son,  happened  to  be  one  of  the 
four  Lieutenants  appointed  at  home  for  this  Pro- 
vince that  Came  to  Edenton  while  I  was  there.  I 
brought  him  along  with  me  a  Journey  of  200  Miles 
in  five  days.  He  is  now  in  My  house  and  is  to 
be  Cap*  Innes  Eldest  Lieutenant.  They  seem  to 
think  themselves  very  happy  in  each  other.  .  .  . 

[Nov.  26th.]  Tempted  with  the  promise  of  care 
from  my  friends  Innes,  Pringle  and  Douglas,  I  have 
sent  my  brother  Will  along  with  them.  They  are  but 
just  put  to  Sea  with  Letters  of  Marque,  and  to  make 
the  best  of  their  Way  to  Jamaica,  Where  they  expect 
to  meet  the  EngHsh  forces  as  well  as  those  of  Amer- 


48  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

ica,  all  under  the  Command  of  My  Lord  Cathcart. 
I  have  sent  about  £80  St^  value  along  with  them 
and  Impowered  Capt  Innes  to  spare  it  to  John  and 
William  as  he  should  find  they  stood  in  need  of  it. 
I  likewise  Impowered  Cap*  Innes  to  draw  for  Will's 
patrimony  if  he  could  lay  it  out  for  his  advantage. 

When  the  rest  of  the  Gentlemen  going  hence  on 
the  Expedition  were  making  their  Wills  Billy  also 
made  his  at  my  request  and  left  all  he  has  to  my 
sister  Betty  &  when  he  gave  her  the  paper  and  told 
her  what  it  was  the  tears  run  down  her  Cheeks  like 
hail.  I  must  not  omit  to  tell  what  they  alledge  of 
Mr.  Douglass  at  signing  his  Will.  He  first  signed 
a  power  of  Attorney  with  his  usual  ease,  but  when 
he  came  to  sign  the  Will  his  hand  shaked  terribly, 
So  that  he  was  Obliged  to  take  it  twice  off  before 
he  Could  finish  his  Name ;  and  when  he  had  done, 
he  said,  "  I  hope  never  to  live  to  put  that  Will  in 
force  for  all  this."  He  could  hardly  stand  this 
joke.  Mr.  Pringle  by  his  good  natured  agreeable 
way  of  Disciplining  the  Company  and  in  his  Con- 
versation and  behavior  in  General  gave  great  Satis- 
faction to  Cap*  Innes,  to  the  soldiers  and  everybody 
else ;  and  it  gave  me  Sensible  pleasure  that  I  was 
the  Cause  of  his  being  allotted  to  Cap*  Innes.  .  .  . 
Had  I  been  certain  of  such  good  Officers,  I  would 
readily  have  persuaded  Billy  to  accept  of  the  Gov" 
kind  offer  of  a  Pr.  of  Coll  ours  but  by  the  time  we 
had  Determined  on  it  the  Govf  had  filled  up  all  the 
Commissions  he  had.  So  far  we  were  unlucky.  .  .  . 
A   ship   had   lately   arrived  after   a  long   passage 


A  PIOXEER  PLANTER  DT  NORTH  CAROLINA     49 

from  London  which  brings  some  Goods  for  John 
Rutherford.  .  .  . 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  ANDREW  BENNET. 

Wilmington,  Cape  Fear,  5""  September,  1741. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  a  long  time  Denied  my 
self  the  pleasure  of  writing  to  you  having  still  had 
some  hopes  of  hearing  from  some  of  my  friends  at 
Chesters  by  every  opportunity.  I  know  not  how  I 
have  Deserved  it,  but  I  never  had  such  Signs  of 
being:  fororotten  or  out  of  favour  there.^  But 
enough  of  this.  Since  my  friend  M""  M^'CuUoch's 
Arrival  in  this  Province  with  his  family  he  has  been 
an  Inhabitant  of  my  house  in  this  town,  which  made 
it  necessary  for  me  to  Discard  all  my  own  family 
but  Johny  Rutherfurd  &  a  Couple  of  Negroes. 
Betsy  therefore  Stays  with  M"*  Clark,  as  does  Jeany 
Ker.  The  former  has  now  a  Httle  of  the  fever  & 
Ague.  My  Sister  Clark  about  3  weeks  ago  was 
Delivered  of  another  Son  ^  and  is  bravely  Recovered. 
The  Lad  promises  to  be  as  pretty  &  thriving  a  boy 
as  the  other, ^  which  is  saying  a  great  Deal.  M"" 
Clark  has  been  Sheriff  of  this  County  ever  Since 
June  Last  and  is  to  Continue  in  that  Office  (worth 
about  £100  Ster  P  Ann)  for  two  years.  He  has  also 
had  the  good  fortune  to  be  Appointed  Collector  of 
this  Port  in  the  Room  of  Samuel  Woodward  Dece'd 
by  ]VP  Dinwiddle,  the  Surveyor  Gen^  of  this  Con- 
tinent, but  for  want  of  friends  &  interest  with  the 

1  His  cousin  Barbara  was  evidently  a  poor  correspondent. 

2  Thomas.  ^  James. 


50  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Ministry  at  home  Dispairs  of  holding  it  Longer 
than  another  is  Appointed  &  sent  over  by  the  Lords 
of  the  Treasury.  That  office  is  also  well  worth  £100 
a  Year,  attended  with  little  trouble,  &  Generally 
Continues  during  Life. 

I  have  Letters  from  Jamaica  of  the  15*h  June 
which  inform  me  that  Jack  &  Willy  were  well,  as 
also  M""  Douglass  and  Cap*  Innes,  but  that  M""  Prin- 
gle  was  Shott  before  Bocha  Chica  on  board  the 
Prince  Frederick,  Lard  Awbery  Commo'',  who  was 
also  Killed  Next  Day.  M^  D.  &  Will  had  the  good 
Luck  to  be  on  a  Cruise  at  the  time  of  that  unsuc- 
cessful Siege  and  to  take  Some  Valuable  prises,  from 
which  M^  D.  expects  £300  &  Will  £20  to  his 
Share ;  but  no  Doubt  you  have  heard  particularly 
from  them.  I  am  tired  of  Deferring  my  Voyage 
any  Longer  and  am  Risolved  to  Depart  from  this 
with  Johny  Rutherfurd  some  time  next  month.  If 
it  please  God  to  give  us  a  prosperous  Voyage,  I 
may  have  the  Pleasure  of  Eating  my  Christmass 
Dinner  with  you. 

Since  I  begun  this  Letter  5  days  have  Elapsed  in 
which  time  I  have  taken  my  Passage  &  Cousin 
John's  on  board  the  Leathly,  Peter  Harrison  Comm% 
for  London ;  and  that  we  May  have  Some  Money 
to  Spend  Among  the  Spaniards  in  Case  we  Should 
be  Nabb'd  by  them  I  have  by  this  Opportunity 
ordered  £500  Ste""  insurance  against  Capture  i.  e. 
300  £  for  Self  &  200  £  for  Cousin  John. 

Pray  give  my  Sincere  Duty  to  My  Aunt  and  my 
Love  to  My  Cousins.     My  Compliments  also  if  you 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA     51 

please  to  My  friends  in  Your  Neighbourhood.     I 
am  D'"  S""  your  most  obliged  & 

most  DutifuU  Nephew 


Betsy  is  Recovered  of  the 
Fever  &  Ague 


JM 


Mr.  Murray  remained  in  England  and  Scotland 
until  the  latter  part  of  1742,  busy  with  various  com- 
mercial affairs  of  himself  and  his  friends  in  North 
Carolina.  A  promise  from  his  cousin  Barbara  was 
obtained  during  his  stay,  and  when  he  came  back  to 
Cape  Fear,  which  he  did  in  February,  1743,  it  was 
in  the  hope  of  a  speedy  return  to  Scotland  for  the 
marriage. 

Mr.  Murray,  as  has  been  said,  was  appointed  ^ 
collector  of  the  port  in  1739.  At  about  that  time 
New  Town,  the  village  where  he  lived,  was  made 
the  port  of  entry,  to  the  great  detriment  of  Bruns- 
wick, which  had  formerly  been  the  port.  This  was 
a  grievance  to  which  the  opposing  faction  could  not 
submit  in  silence.  A  sHght  skirmish  of  letters  be- 
tween Roger  Moore  and  Mr.  Murray  was  but  the 
prelude  to  a  complaint  in  the  form  of  a  memorial  to 
the  Board  of  Trade,  signed  by  Nath.  Rice,  Eleazer 
Allen,  E.  Moseley,  and  R.  Moore. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO   ROGER  MOORE.  ^ 

Newto  24'h  Nov'  1739.    i^ 

Sir,  I  received  your  Letter  Desiring  me  as 
Deputy  Naval  Officer  to  Come  down  to  Brunswick 


52  JAIMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

to  Clear  out  the  Henry  &  Mary  of  Hull  —  I  am  to 
inform  You  that  his  Excellency  has  Appointed  me 
principal  Naval  Officer  of  this  port.  With  Orders 
to  reside  here  :  And  He  bids  me  tell  you,  that  if 
you  think  either  his  Majesties  Revenue  or  the  in- 
terest of  the  County  is  injured  thereby  :  You  may 
Represent  it  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury  or  to  y^ 
Com"  of  the  Customs  Who  No  Doubt  will  give 
proper  Orders  thereupon 
I  am 

Sir  your  Very  humble  Serv' 

Soon  after  this  episode,  Mr.  Murray  was  drawn  into 
pohtical  life  by  Governor  Johnston,  who,  in  Febru- 
ary of  that  year,  secured  his  appointment  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Councilors.^  The  appointment 
was  not,  judging  from  the  two  ensuing  letters,  espe- 
cially desired  by  Mr.  Murray,  but  rather  brought 
about  by  the  Governor's  need  of  his  cooperation. 

The  quit-rent  law,  to  which  the  first  of  these 
letters  refers,  was  passed  before  Mr.  Murray  entered 
the  Council.  Governor  Johnston,  who  was  first  and 
foremost  a  faithful  servant  to  the  king,  reported 
that  the  law  would  raise  the  revenue  to  be  derived 
from  the  province  by  the  crown  from  nothing  at 
all  to  £1800  a  year,  and  added  as  a  secondary  con- 
sideration that  it  would  "  bring  peace  and  tranquil- 
lity to  a  colony  which  had  from  its  first  settlement 
been  quarreling  about  the  points  now  so  happily 
adjusted."     He    shared   the  common  view    of   the 

1  Mr.  Murray  was  then  twenty-seven  years  of  age. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA      53 

time  in  looking  upon  the  province  merely  as  a  means 
of  procuring  revenue  for  the  mother  country. 

The  collecting  of  the  quit-rents  was,  as  he  said, 
a  matter  in  which  the  people  had  long  been  success- 
ful in  baJBfling  their  governors.  They  would  not, 
and  probably  could  not,  pay  in  gold  or  silver,  or 
even  in  paper  currency,  their  proper  dues,  but  were 
found  year  after  year  "  insisting  on  paying  their 
rents  in  the  worst  and  most  bulky  kind  of  their 
produce,  such  as  butter,  cheese,  feathers,  tar,  pitch, 
Indian  corn,  &c."  These  commodities,  moreover, 
the  people  maintained,  must  be  fetched  by  govern- 
ment if  they  were  to  be  obtained  at  all,  as  they  had 
not  means  of  transportation.  The  result  was  that 
the  rents  usually  went  unpaid. 

Johnston's  quit-rent  law  limited  the  commodities 
to  inspected  tobacco,  hemp,  flax,  and  beeswax,  which, 
moreover,  were  to  be  rated  so  much  under  their  real 
value  that  transportation  would  be  covered  by  the 
gain  in  selling  them  abroad,  while  no  planter  would 
give  the  preference  to  payment  in  commodities  if  he 
could  possibly  lay  hold  of  currency  for  his  rents. 

As  to  the  value  of  the  currency  itself,  the  relation 
between  the  bills  of  the  province  and  sterling  and 
proclamation  money  was  to  be  settled  yearly  by  the 
principal  persons  of  the  government. 

The  law  also  touched  upon  the  disputed  point  of 
the  blank  patents.  By  it  such  patents  as  were  regis- 
tered in  due  time  and  ascertained  were  confirmed, 
provided  that  their  aggregate  amount  did  not  exceed 
150,000  acres ;  but  those  that  bore  a  date  subsequent 


54  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

to  the  purchase  by  the  crown  were  left  entirely  to 
his  majesty's  jDleasiire  "  either  to  allow  them  or  to 
declare  them  null  and  void." 


JAMES  MURRAY  TO  HENRY  MCCULLOH. 

Cape  Fear,  30  Jan'y,  1739/40. 

...  As  to  Publick  Affairs  I  wrote  you  in  My 
last  that  since  the  Reconcilement  Occasioned  by  the 
Quit  Rent  Law  M""  Allen  Had  Joined  the  family/ 
who  thereby  had  got  a  Majority  in  Council  &  were 
like  to  Carry  things  in  an  Arbitrary  and  Selfish 
Way,  for  Which  Reason  I  proposed  to  You  the 
taking  out  my  Mandamus,  and  Charge  the  fees  to 
Me.  But  Since  that  the  Govern'"  has  had  a  letter 
from  the  Board  of  Trade  Wherein  they  inform  him 
that  his  Majesty  has  been  Graciously  Pleased  to 
Appoint  Me  a  Member  of  his  Council  here,  Which 
Will  be  a  Sufficient  Warrant  for  the  Gov""  to  Call 
me  to  My  place  if  he  finds  his  Majes^^  And  the 
Countrys  Service  Absolutely  require  it.  Till  then 
I  Do  not  Desire  it.  So  you'll  take  Care  Not  to 
Advance  any  More  Money  on  that  Ace*  than  what 
I  have  Already  paid  the  Board  of  Trade.  The 
Effects  of  the  Quit  Rent  Law,  beside  What  I  have 
Mention"^,  are  that  it  has  Made  the  Gov""  Independent 
either  of  Mosely,  Moore  &c,  whom  we  call  the  fam- 

^  A  term  of  derision  possibly  dating  from  the  time  when  Maurice 
Moore  and  others,  in  a  document  setting  forth  the  claims  for  consid- 
eration possessed  by  these  holders  of  the  blank  patents,  stated  that 
there  were  "  twelve  thousand  persons  in  their  families "  and  in 
families  of  those  under  their  care.  Colonial  Records  of  North  Caro- 
lina^ vol.  xviii.  p.  310. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA     55 

ily,  or  of  the  Northern  Men ;  and  his  Conduct  even 
Since  the  Quitrent  Law  has  been  Approved  by  both 
Sides  and  by  the  Country  in  General.  The  Only 
thing  the  People  Complain  of  is  that  by  the  clause 
in  the  Q.  R.  L.  for  Valuing  y^  Currency  We  are 
now  to  Pay  our  Quit-rents  at  ten  Currency  for  one 
Sterhng,  whereas  before  We  Grumbled  at  7  for 
one  ... 

I  hear  Mr.  Roger  Moore  alledges  that  he  has  an 
old  patent  (which  is  now  confirmed  by  the  Q.  R.  L.) 
that  he  Says  is  Within  your  72,000  acres;  and 
sometimes  he  says  it  is  Within  the  Bounds  of  y' 
Land  Sold  Yaughan.  You  '11  Observe  a  Clause  in 
the  Quit  Rent  Law  that  all  Disputes  between  Pro- 
prietors' Patents  and  those  lately  issued  are  Deter- 
minable by  the  Gov!"  in  Council,  who  I  hope  will 
take  Care  that  no  injury  be  done  to  you. 

The  removal  from  Brunswick  of  the  port  of  entry 
was  only  the  forerunner  of  a  yet  greater  blow  to 
the  family.  The  Governor's  account  of  the  doings 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  February  reads  very 
smoothly,  —  "  Our  Assembly,  which  met  here  on 
the  fifth  of  February,  1740,  is  just  now  prorogued. 
They  behaved  with  decency  and  parted  in  very 
good  humor  (a  thing  not  very  common  here)  after 
passing  some  Laws.  At  present  I  shall  only  take 
notice  of  one,  which  is  an  Act  to  erect  a  Yillage 
called  Newtown  on  the  Cape  Fear  River,  into  a 
township  by  the  name  of  Wilmington.  .  .  .  The 
town  is  at  the  meeting  of  the  two  great  branches 


/ 


56  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

of  the  Cape  Fear  River,  its  road  capable  of  receiv" 
ing  vessels  of  great  biirthen.  ...  I  always  looked 
upon  the  want  of  a  Town  with  a  Convenient  Port 
as  one  of  the  greatest  Obstacles  to  the  Improve- 
ment of  the  Trade  of  the  Country  and  the  poHshing 
its  inhabitants.  I  return  your  Lordship's  thanks 
for  recommending  Mr.  Murray." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  a  time  of  storms,  at  least 
^'  in  the  Council.  The  favoring  of  Newtown  and  giv- 
ing it,  as  the  township  of  Wilmington,  the  dignity 
of  one  of  the  chief  places  in  the  province,  could 
not  have  been  done  at  that  time  had  not  the  Gov- 
ernor been  able  to  call  Mr.  Murray  to  a  seat  in  the 
Council ;  ^  even  then  it  was  only  accompHshed  by 

1  «  At  a  Council  held  at  Newbern  ISth  February,  1739/40. 
Present  his  Excellency  the  Governour 

r  W°  Smith  Math  Rowan     ^  Esq" 

The  Honorable  <  Nath  Rice  Edw^  Moseley  1  Members      of 

( Rob*  Halton  Roger  Moore     j  His  Majesty's 

Eleaz'  Allen      j  Council. 

His  Excellency  the  Governour  was  pleased  to  acquaint  this  Board  that 
he  had  received  a  letter  from  Right  Honorable  the  Lords  of  Trade 
and  Plantations  Signifying  that  he  had  been  graciously  pleased  to 
approve  of  his  recommendation  of  Mr  Murray  for  a  Councillor  of 
this  Province  in  the  room  of  Mr  Porter  deceased,  which  the  Gov- 
ernour ordered  to  be  read  .  .  . 

Whitehall,  Sept.  12th,  1739. 

Sir,  — ...  In  compliance  with  your  request  of  the  8th  of  Feby. 
1737/8  we  have  recommended  Mr  Murray  to  .  .  .  his  Majesty  for  a 
Councillor  in  the  room  of  Mr  Porter  deceased  and  his  Majesty  has 
been  graciously  pleased  to  approve  of  him  accordingly.  .  .  . 

M.  Bladen. 

Ja.  Brudenell. 

R.  Plumer. 

.  .  .  And  the  said  Mr  Murray,  being  called  to  the  Board  and  ac- 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     57 

what  was  vii-tually  a  tie  vote,  made  decisive  by  the  ^ 
eldest  councilor's  casting  a  second  ballot  in  addition 
to  his  first.  This  the  opposing  party  insisted  was 
illegal,  but  the  Governor  gave  it  his  sanction.^  The 
four  members  who  had  voted  against  the  measure 
were  the  former  memoriaHsts,  Rice,  Moore,  Allen, 
and  Moseley.  They  sent  in  a  protest  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, which  was  answered,  as  follows,  by  the  other 
four  who  had  favored  it,  Wm.  Smith,  Robert  Hal- 
ton,  Mathew  Rowan,  and  James  Murray  :  — 

"  As  their  [the  protestants']  tedious  account  of 
the  casting  vote  is  but  a  second  edition  of  their 
Protest  given  at  Newtown  a  httle  improved  in  stile 
and  virulence  since  their  arrival  at  Cape  Fear,  a  few 
words  will  serve  as  an  answer  to  it.  We  were  then 
and  are  still  of  Opinion  that  in  case  of  an  equality 
of  Votes  there  must  be  a  decisive  Vote  in  the  first 
Person  in  the  Commission,  and  this  we  take  to  be 
warranted  by  the  practice  of  several  corporations 
and  societies  at  Home ;  and  if  ever  it  was  necessary 
or  allowable,  We  do  conceive  it  to  be  so  in  this 
case,  for  as  the  Council  has  seldom  or  never  con- 
sisted of  above  eight  persons  with  such  a  vote  it 
would  be  in  the  power  of  four  persons  to  stop  all 
manner  of  business  and  put  a  negative  upon  Gov- 
ernor's Council  and  House  of  Burgesses,  and  this 
we  look  upon  as  an  absurdity  which  can  never  take 

quainted  therewith  took  and  subscribed  the  several  oaths  by  law 
appointed  to  be  taken  for  the  qualification  of  Public  Officers  also  to 
execute  said  Office  Faithfully."  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina, 
vol.  iv.  pp.  444,  445. 


58  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

place  in  any  Constitution  founded  on  that  of  Great 
Britain." 

Mr.  Saunders  ^  characterizes  Johnston's  acceptance 
of  this  casting  vote  as  arbitrary  and  unjust.  The 
above  answer,  which  bears  some  marks  of  Mr. 
Murray's  pen,  must  stand  as  the  Governor's  defense. 

Mr.  Murray's  own  account  of  these  matters  is  as 
follows :  — 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   [PROBABLY   MR.    HOUSTON]. 

Cape  Fear,  25th  March,  1740. 

Dear  Sir,  —  This  waits  on  you  with  Copy  of  my 
last  of  the  30th  Jan''^.  Since  that  time  the  assembly 
met  at  New  Berne  where  our  Southern  gentlemen 
(viz.  M""  Moore  and  friends)  expected  to  carry  every- 
thing before  them  and  aimed  at  no  less  than  turn- 
ing out  Chief  Justice  Smith  and  putting  a  tool  of 
their  own  in  his  place.  To  effect  this  they  exhib- 
ited articles  against  him  in  the  Lower  House, 
which  for  want  of  proof  were  then  dismissed  with- 
out ever  being  bro*  up  to  the  Gov^  in  Council  who 
was  to  have  tried  him.  This  being  over  and  the 
Governor  finding  the  house  of  burgesses  disposed 
to  do  business,  but  being  apprehensive  of  a  stop 
being  put  to  everything  in  the  Council  that  was  not 

every    way    agreeable    to    the ,  who    had    the 

majority  in  Council  by  reason  of  ColP  Pollock's 
absence,  he-  sent  for  me  and  swore  me  in  by  virtue 
of  the  Lords  of  Trades  Let".  Then  the  assembly 
proceeded  to  business  and  passed  several  laws,  one 

1  Editor  of  the  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina. 


A  PIONKTiiR  PLAISTTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     59 

of  which  estabHshes  Newton  a  town  by  the  name  of 
Wihnington  with  Privilege  of  Sending  a  Member 
to  the  Assembly  &c.  I  refer  you  to  the  Copy  of 
the  acct  which  is  enclosed.  The  other  three  acts 
are  for  du'ecting  the  method  of  proving  book  debts, 
for  allowing  wages  to  the  Members  of  both  Houses 
viz :  40/  to  one  and  30/  a  day  to  the  other  during 
their  Sitting,  and  appointing  John  Hodgson  speaker 
of  the  Lower  house  pubHck  Treasurer  for  Albe- 
marle. It  was  also  resolved  by  both  Houses  of 
Assembly  that  the  families  lately  arrived  from  North 
Britain  and  settled  in  the  Neighborhood  of  your 
Lands  on  the  North  West  branch  of  Cape  Fear 
Kiver  should  be  exempted  from  all  taxes  for  ten 
years,  next  after  their  arrival  and  that  all  protestant 
famihes  that  shall  come  from  Europe  to  settle  in 
this  province  provided  their  number  at  setting  out 
be  above  forty  shall  in  like  manner  be  exempted 
from  all  taxes  for  ten  years  next  after  their  arrival. 
The  assembly  was  prorogued  to  Edenton  there  to 
be  held  on  the  2d  Tuesday  of  November  next. 
And  the  Gov''  Intends  to  hold  the  assembhes  after! j 
that  at  Edenton  and  Wilmington  by  turns.  The  ' 
Court  of  Chancery  is  appointed  to  be  held  here  twice 
a  year. 

The  law  for  this  town  passing  in  the  council  only 
by  the  President's  casting  vote,  there  being  four 
for  and  four  against  the  bill,  the  Moores  think  they 
have  thereby  a  good  handle  to  get  a  law  Repealed 
at  home  that  affects  them  so  much  here.  I  thmk  I 
may  Venture  to  say  that  it  is  for  your  Interest  to 


60  JA]\1ES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Support  that  law  and  get  it  confirmed  if  Possible. 
Captain  Woodward  it  will  also  obHge,  who  had 
much  rather  live  here  than  at  Brunswick.  He  is 
very  much  indisposed,  and  has  been  this  long  time 
with  the  Gout. 

As  to  Remittances,  I  shall  be  able  to  do  something 
from  my  old  debts  when  the  receiver  general  returns 
from  the  Collection  of  the  Quit  Rents  at  the  nor- 
ward,  and  as  soon  as  I  have  a  ship  load  of  either 
Tar  or  Pitch  or  part  of  both  with  some  Rice  ready 
shall  send  for  a  vessel  to  South  Carolina  or  Boston, 
let  the  freight  be  what  it  will.  While  the  Export 
of  this  River  continues  in  the  hands  it  is  in  at  pre- 
sent, I  expect  to  meet  with  all  the  Disappointment 
they  can  give.  They  have  already  show'd  me  in 
several  instances  what  they  are  capable  of  doing. 
But  I  shall  be  able  within  a  twelve  month  to  over- 
come all  the  hindrance  they  can  give  me  so  far  as 
to  satisfy  those  concerned  with  me.  And  what  in- 
jury they  can  do  to  my  private  fortune  I  had  and 
wiU  much  rather  put  up  with  than  basely  truckle  to 
a  set  of  men  whose  doings  are  in  my  opinion  so  far 
from  being  justifiable.' .  .  . 

I  have  for  some  months  been  Naval  Officer  of  this 
Port  at  Request  and  for  the  benefit  of  my  Brother 
Clark  who  formerly  executed  that  office  and  who 
will  take  it  into  his  hands  again  as  soon  as  he  is 
superseded  by  a  Collector  from  home  for  the  Port  of 
Bath,  whom  he  expected  long  ere  now.  As  soon 
as  the  Gov'"  returns  from  the  Norward  so  that  he 
(Mr.  Clark)  can  send  him  his  accots  attested  I  shall 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     61 

have  a  sterling  bill  of  at  least  forty  pounds  from 
him. 

The  advantage  I  have  by  the  naval  office  is  that 
it  brings  a  great  deal  of  ready  money  into  my  hands. 

A  year  later  Mr.  Murray  bore  testimony  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  McCulloh,  then  newly  arrived  in  America^  as 
to  the  relations  between  Johnston  and  the  people  in 
general. 

JAMES   MURKAY   TO   HENRY   MCCULLOH. 

Wilmington,  Cape  Fear,  12*'^  April,  1741. 

I  had  the  pleasure  to  Receive  the  agreable  News 
of  your  Safe  arrival  by  your  letters  of  the  4*h  &  7*h 
March  while  I  was  at  Edenton,  on  which  I  heartily 
Congratulate  you,  M"  M'^Culloch  and  family.  .  .  . 
I  Returned  here  on  friday  last  after  having  seen 
a  period  to  a  long  session  of  Assembly  at  Edenton 
where  a  good  deal  of  business  has  been  done.  I  de- 
Hvered  the  letters  you  inclosed  me  to  the  Governor, 
who  has  pubHshed  the  instructions  relating  to  the 
Land  Office  by  proclamation,  and  that  relating  to 
the  reducing  of  our  Money  to  Procl.  Standard  was 
not  thought  Necessary  to  be  made  pubHck.  Nor 
Could  he  Conveniently  promulgate  the  other  instruc- 
tions &c.  till  the  Sitting  of  next  Council  here  on 
the  thud  tuesday  of  May,  and  it  is  hoped  you  will 
be  very  Cautious  in  making  any  declarations  about 
them  that  will  reach  this  place  before  the  end  of 
May.  .  .  .  There  has  been  some  debate  in  Council 
how  My  Lord  Carteret  is  to  be  P^  his  eight  part  of 


62  JAIMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

the  Quit  Rents,  whither  out  of  the  Gross  or  Neat 
Produce ;  but  they  would  not  take  upon  y""  to  de- 
termine the  same,  but  left  the  Receiver  General  to 
do  as  he  pleased.  No  doubt  you  are  informed  how 
My  Lord  receives  his  share  in  So.  CaroHna  &  how 
he  ought  to  Receive  it  here. 

The  Collection  of  the  Quit  Rents  for  this  Year 
and  for  all  Arrears  will  as  much  as  possible  be 
endeavoured  to  be  Compleated  before  the  latter  end 
of  May.  The  Officers  have  Reced  so  Httle  of  these 
4  or  5  years  Salary  that  they  would  be  very  much 
Straitened  without  it.  As  to  the  Disputes  of  this 
province,  they  are  not  between  the  people  in  Gen- 
eral and  the  Governor,  for  they  are  very  well  satis- 
fied with  him,  but  there  are  a  certain  set  of  Men  in 
this  Province  who  are  never  to  be  Satisfied,  if  they 
have  not  the  Cheif  Management  of  Affairs.  As  you 
may  meet  with  some  of  this  Complexion  before  I 
have  the  pleasure  of  Seeing  you  I  depend  so  much 
upon  my  knowledge  of  you  and  on  your  knowledge 
of  their  Characters  that  I  am  Certain  a  Caution  of 
incredulity  and  reservedness  untill  you  have  been 
sometime  in  the  Country  would  be  altogether  need- 
less. / 

If  this  finds  you  in  S''  Carolina  I  would  advise 
M'^s  M^Culloch  rather  to  put  up  with  the  inconven- 
iences of  this  place  than  to  trust  her  self  this  sum- 
mer in  so  sickly  and  Mortal  a  place  as  S°  CaroHna. 
It  is  thought  this  place  is  rather  cooler  than  any  to 
the  Nor'ard  in  the  Settlements  of  this  province  by 
reason  of  y®  constant  breeze  — 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     63 

Mr.  McCuUoh,  on  his  arrival  at  Cape  Fear,  occu- 
pied Mr.  Murray's  house,  availing  himself  of  the 
offer  contained  in  the  following  letter.  The  diffi- 
culties of  the  journey  in  those  days,  so  cheerfully 
minimized  by  Mr.  MuiTay,  are  apt  to  be  forgotten 
unless  brought  to  mind  by  some  such  evidence  as 
this. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  HENRY  MCCULLOH. 

Wilmington,  11'^  May,  1741. 

...  I  am  sorry  that  Affairs  of  any  kind  should 
detain  you  so  long  in  Charlestown  particularly  at 
this  season  of  the  year.  I  should  think  it  much  the 
easiest  way  for  M"  M'^Culloh  and  you  too  to  come 
by  water.  If  the  risque  of  being  taken  at  sea  is 
apprehended  to  be  great,  the  coming  within  land  to 
Winyan  [Winyah]  and  thence  up  Wackaman  [Wa- 
camaw]  to  within  5  miles  of  the  widow  Master's  I 
am  told  is  very  practicable  and  will  shorten  the 
Journey  to  three  very  easy  days  riding.  You  may 
have  as  many  horses  as  you  please  sent  to  any  place 
at  or  on  this  side  Winyan  on  5  or  6  days  notice 
before  the  time  they  '11  be  wanted.  .  .  . 

In  my  house  there  is  a  large  Room  22  by  16  feet, 
the  most  airy  of  any  in  the  Country,  two  tolerable 
lodging  rooms  &  a  Closet  up  stairs  &  Garrets  above, 
a  Cellar  below  divided  into  a  Kitchen  with  an  oven 
and  a  Store  for  Liquors,  provisions,  &c.  This  makes 
one  half  of  my  house.  The  other,  placed  on  the 
east  end,  is  the  Store  Cellar  below,  the  Store  and 
Counting  House  on  the  first  floor,  &  above  it  is 


64  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

partition' d  off  into  four  rooms,  but  this  end  is  not 
plaister'd  but  only  done  with  rough  boards.  Of  this 
house  you  may  have  as  much  as  you  please,  for  I 
can  send  my  Apprentice  &  httle  Sister,  who  are  all 
the  family  (beside  Serv*^)  that  I  have  now  to  take 
care  of,  I  say  I  can  send  them  or  at  least  her  to  my 
Brother  Clark's.  You  '11  find  here  the  best  water  in 
either  of  the  Provinces,  &  you  '11  generaly  be  well 
supplied  with  fish  only  by  one  hand  or  two  employ' d 
that  way.  We  are  also  much  better  Situated  for 
having  supplys  from  the  Country.  But  without  a 
Cook  wench,  a  store  of  Rmn,  Wine,  flower,  Melasses, 
Sugar,  Tea,  &c.,  brought  with  you  you  '11  find  your 
self  at  a  Loss  for  want  of  them,  or  else  suppHed  with 
them  &  everything  else  that  is  not  the  produce  of 
the  Country  at  most  extravagant  rates.  If  you  in- 
tend to  do  any  business  here,  a  Cooper  and  a  Craft 
that  wiU  carry  about  100  barrels  will  be  absolutely 
necessary.  I  have  suffer'd  much  for  want  of  them, 
and  that  want  of  Craft  and  negroes  will  be  a  great 
obstruction  in  securing  the  Quantity  of  Naval  Stores 
at  this  time  that  otherwise  I  might  do.  Tar  is  30 
to  35/,  Pitch  50  to  551  y  Turpentine  70/  p  bar^,  Rice 
£4  to  £4.10  p  C,  boards  15  to  £17.10  p  thous^  feet, 
white  oak  hh*^  Staves  £15  Pm,  Shingles  80  to  90/ 
Pm. 

The  Gov'  will  be  here  the  latter  end  of  this 
week  or  beginning  of  next,  and  if  M'^  Johnston 
does  not  continue  in  the  bad  state  of  health  she  was 
in  when  I  left  Edenton  I  am  in  hopes  he  will  stay 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     65 

'til  your  arrival  or  at  least  'til  the  return  of  this 
Express. 

As  to  the  little  Politicks  and  disputes  of  this 
place,  I  was  never  more  unconcern' d  than  at  present, 
for  I  have  nothing  either  to  hope  or  fear  from  the 
Issue  of  them  except  the  pleasure  of  re-estabhshing 
a  good  understanding  among  my  friends  whom  I 
know  to  be  Gentlemen  of  worth  &  honour. 

With  all  his  energy  and  a  fair  share  of  hopeful- 
ness, Mr.  Murray  was  wholly  without  the  main- 
spring of  sanguine  enthusiasm  which  moved  the 
New  England  emigrants  and  supported  the  Quakers, 
a  trait  of  character  which  has  come  to  stand  at  home 
and  abroad  as  one  distinctive  mark  of  an  American. 
A  true  American  James  Murray  never  became.  Still, 
he  was  essentially  a  man  of  a  pubHc  spirit,  and  so 
far  as  that  spirit  could  be  exercised  in  an  atmosphere 
of  party  faction  he  exercised  it.  His  pubhc  stand- 
ing was  high,  and  he  always  wrote  about  provincial 
matters  with  a  certain  tone  of  authority. 

In  the  year  in  which  he  was  made  a  member  of 
the  Council,  George  Whitefield,  who  had  come  over 
from  England  with  Fox,  visited  North  Carolina,  while   , 
his  colleague  devoted  himself  to  Virginia.     He  evi-   \ 
dently  urged  the  importance  of  schools,  and  in  this    t 
Mr.  Murray  was  ready  to  second  him,  not  being  of   - 
the  mind  of  Governor  Berkeley,  who  broke  out,  in  i 
his   report   to    the  proprietors  in   1671  :    "  Yet  I   \ 
thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools  nor  printing    ) 


o 


66  JAIVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

presses,  and  I  hope  we  shall  not  have  any  these 
hundred  years.  For  learning  has  brought  disobedi- 
ence and  heresy,  and  sects  into  the  world,  and 
printing  has  divulged  them,  —  God  keep  us  from 
both." 


JAMES    MURKAY    TO    THE   REV.   GEORGE  WHITEFIELD. 
Wilmington,  Cape  Fear,  June  24'*",  1740. 

D^  Sir  ...  I  heartily  thank  you  for  the  two 
barrels  flower  that  you  were  so  kind  to  Send  Me,  & 
the  sermons  &c  with  the  good  advice  you  give  me 
along  with  them  is  very  Obliging,  &  Confirms  Me 
in  the  Opinion  I  have  always  had  of  you  Since  I 
had  the  hapiness  of  you  acquaintance  that  you  are 
Sincere  disinterested  &  indefatigable  in  promoting 
true  Religion,  —  Christianity.  Your  Sermons  here 
had  (as  we  have  reason  to  believe)  a  good  Effect  on 
Several  of  your  hearers,  &  the  acco*  of  them  made 
many  others  sorry  they  were  absent. 

As  the  great  aim  of  your  life  is  to  do  good  by 
propagating  the  Gospel,  it  is  the  opinion  of  many 
People  of  good  sence  that  there  is  Not  a  Province 
in  America  where  your  preaching  is  So  Much  wanted 
as  in  this. 

May  therefore  hope  you'll  persist  in  your  first 
resolution  of  Staying  Sometime  among  us  in  your 
way  from  the  nor' ward.  ^.- 

As  to  a  School-master,  one  would  certainly  be 
Very  necessary  here.  I  shall  consult  with  those 
most  Immediatly  concern'd  in  that  affair,  &  if  they 
will  come  under  any  Engagements  sufficient  to  In- 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     67 

courage  one  to  come  here  I  shall  presume  to  give 
you  the  trouble  by  the  Post  to  Charlestown  of  a 
letter  to  desire  you  would  recommend  one  to  us. 

Early  in  the  year  1744  he  went  to  Scotland  to  be 
married  to  his  cousin  Barbara.  His  plantation  he 
left  in  Mr.  Clark's  hands.  His  house  was  occupied 
by  Mr.  McCuUoh.  EHzabeth's  negroes  were  hired 
out,  while  EHzabeth  herseK  accompanied  her  brother. 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   JAMES   HAZEL. 

Wilmington,  28  Feb.,  1743/4. 
I  have  three  Negroes  named  Glasgow,  Kelso  and 
Berwick  ^  in  Trust  for  my  Sister  EHzabeth  Murray, 
which  you  may  have  on  hire  for  three  years  from 
the  first  of  March  Next,  on  or  before  which  Time 
they  Shall  be  DeHvered  to  You  if  You  Agree  to  my 
Proposals ;  which  are  :  that  you  Pay  Yearly  at  the 
Time  and  manner  after  mentioned  Eight  Pounds 
Sterling  money  of  Great  Brittain  for  the  Negro 
Called  Glasgow,  and  Six  Pounds  ten  Shillings  like 
money  each  for  Kelso  and  Berwick,  in  aU  Twenty 
One  Pounds  Sterling ;  for  which  Sum  You  '11  Please 
to  DeHver  to  me  or  my  Attorney  some  Time  between 
the  10%  Day  of  May  next  and  the  Wh  Day  of  May 
following  and  so  yearly  for  the  said  three  Years 
Good  Bills  of  Exchange,  or  a  Sufficient  Quantity  of 
Merchantable  Produce  fitt  for  a  british  market,  to  be 
Ship*  on  your  Account  &  Risque  in  the  first  Vessel 
that  I  or  my  Attorneys  can  Procure  freight  in  after 

^  The  names  recall  the  Scottish  associations. 


68  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

the  Keceipt  of  it,  on  which  Produce  Such  Value 
shall  be  Insured  for  you  on  the  Usual  Terms  as  You 
Please  to  Direct  at  each  Time  of  Payment,  which 
Sum  Directed  to  be  Insured  Shall  be  accounted  for 
to  you  in  the  Customary  Terms  of  Interest  in  Case 
of  Loss  and  taken  in  Payment  of  the  said  liire,  and 
the  neat  Proceeds  of  Such  Commodities  so  DeHvered 
&  Ship*  shaU  be  taken  in  Payment  of  the  said  hire. 
Among  other  Charges  of  Your  Goods  aforesaid  the 
Premium  of  the  Sum  you  Direct  to  be  Insured  is 
also  to  be  Deducted  from  the  Neat  Proceeds.  And 
in  Case  you  fail  to  make  Sufficient  Payment  yearly 
within  the  Time  above  mentioned  as  above  men- 
tioned. You  Will  Pay  Whatever  Simi  you  are  Defi- 
cient, together  with  Twenty  three  P  Cent  thereon, 
within  two  months  after  Such  Deficiency  Shall  be 
known,  in  Tar  at  the  Current  Price  here,  reducing 
the  Same  to  SterHng  at  the  Common  Exchange. 
You  '11  allow  this  Twenty  three  P  Cent  advance 
because  I  have  excepted  of  Sixty  five  pounds  (in 
Consideration  of  my  being  Paid  in  Sterling  money) 
instead  of  Eighty  Pounds  you  Offered  to  Pay  me 
here.  And  as  We  have  by  mutual  Consent  Valued 
the  said  Glasgow  at  five  hundred  Pounds,  and  Kelso 
and  Berrwick  at  four  hundred  Pounds  each,  you  wiU 
Return  the  said  three  Negroes  at  the  expiration  of 
the  said  three  Years  from  the  first  of  March  next, 
Provided  they  are  ahve,  but  in  Case  of  the  Death  of 
them  or  any  of  them,  or  in  Case  they  or  any  of  them 
run  away,  so  as  they  can  not  be  found,  then  &  in 
either  of  these  Cases  you  must  Pay  in  the  Same 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     69 

manner  you  pay  the  hire  aforesaid  the  Value  as 
above  fixed  of  such  Negro  or  Negroes  Dead  or  run 
away  as  aforesaid,  and  allow  the  hire  of  such  Dead 
or  Run  away  Negro  as  if  he  had  been  ahve  and  pre- 
sent untill  you  Pay  the  Value  of  him  as  aforesaid  ; 
and  in  Case  of  their  being  runaway  so  as  not  to  be 
had  in  a  Resonable  Time,  you  shall  have  a  Bill  of 
Sale  for  Such  Runaway  on  Paying  the  Value  as 
aforesaid  and  in  Case  any  of  them  shall  Receive  any 
Damage  by  the  WilfuU  abuse  of  Your  Overseer^ 
then  you  must  allow  for  Such  Damage  at  the  Re- 
turning of  the  Said  Slaves,  I  am 
Sir 
Your  most  humble  Serv* 

At  some  time  during  this  year  — 1744  —  James 
Murray  and  Barbara  Bennet  were  married.  For  five 
years  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Murray  remained  in 
England  and  Scotland.  He  Hved  at  one  time  at 
Ninton,  at  another  at  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  at  an- 
other in  London.  It  was  in  a  house  on  Tower  Hill, 
in  London,  in  the  year  1745,  that  his  eldest  child, 
Dorothy,  was  born.  The  death  of  Mr.  Clark  recalled 
him  to  America,  whither  with  his  wife  and  child  and 
his  sister  EHzabeth  he  returned  in  1749.  He  sailed 
first  to  Boston,  where  Elizabeth,  as  will  be  seen  in  a 
later  chapter,  estabHshed  herself  in  business,  and 
leaving  his  wife  and  child  there  temporarily  in  his 
sister's  charge,  he  repaired  alone  to  Cape  Fear. 

The  shoals  of  the  North  Carohna  coast,  and  the 
ignorance  of  the  captain,  nearly  brought  shipwreck 


70  JAIMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

to  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  from  Boston.  An 
account  of  the  misadventure  was  sent  to  his  cousin 
and  sister-in-law,  Jean  Bennet.  The  two  sisters, 
Anne  and  Jean  Bennet,  stood  in  a  pecuharly  inti- 
mate and  dear  relation  to  their  sister  Barbara's  fam- 
ily, being  able,  as  they  never  formed  absorbing  ties 
of  their  own,  to  give  the  warmest  affection  and  sym- 
pathy to  her,  her  husband,  and  her  children.  They 
were  long  held  in  remembrance  by  James  Murray's 
descendants,  several  of  whom  bore  their  united 
names,  "  Anne  Jean." 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   JEAN    BENNET. 

Cape  Fear  July  24*^  1749. 

...  I  had  yesterday  the  Happiness  to  receive 
Letters  of  the  24  June  from  my  Lass  and  my  Sister 
at  Boston.  .  .  .  You  will  be  curious  to  know  how  I 
do  to  hve  without  them.  Why,  to  confess  the  truth, 
I  have  a  much  better  time  of  it  than  I  expected. 
Whether  this  is  owing  to  age,  to  the  Heat  of  the 
Season,  the  regularity  of  my  life,  or  to  that  Serious 
turn  which  grows  upon  me  and  becomes  more  and 
more  agreeable,  I  cannot  tell.  I  shall  leave  you  to 
determine.  I  Discover  for  all,  however,  by  this  Sep- 
aration that  so  much  of  my  Happiness  depends  upon 
my  Dear  B —  that  I  shall  be  very  averse  to  such 
another  parting  while  it  pleases  God  to  continue  us 
in  hfe,  and  I  purpose  to  be  like  the  Prodigal  son 
after  his  hardships  more  obhging  for  the  time  to 
come.  But  where  am  I  got  to  ?  .  .  .  Since  I  Came 
here  I  have  been  in  good  Spirits  and  without  any 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     71 

sort  of  ailment.  I  had  indeed  a  little  fright  in 
coming  which  discomposed  me.  The  Story  of  it  is 
this  : 

We  left  Boston  on  the  5*^  of  June,  and  after 
much  contrary  winds,  warm  weather  and  a  Stream 
against  us  we  made  the  land  on  Thursday,  the  6*^ 
of  July,  about  11  o'clock,  having  had  Soundings 
about  20  fathom  at  8.  The  day  was  clear  and  the 
wind  was  fair.  In  these  Circumstances  I  found  a 
heart  more  grateful  than  I  believe  it  would  have 
been  after  the  same  Voyage  performed  in  a  Week 
or  ten  days.  At  noon  we  were  by  the  Cap*  & 
Mate's  observation  ab*'  30  m  south  of  our  port. 
While  we  were  thus  sailing  along  at  the  rate  of 
four  or  five  miles  an  hour,  and  the  Pines  raising 
their  heads  more  distinctly  to  our  View,  I  took  the 
advantage  of  this  Good  temper  to  review  my  con- 
duct in  the  place  to  which  I  was  now  returning,  to 
resolve  an  Amendment  of  the  many  faulty  parts  of 
it,  and  to  acknowledge  the  undeserved  goodness  of 
Providence  in  the  several  Dispensations  by  which  I 
had  been  led  to  so  just  a  sense  of  my  Sins  and  to  a 
clearer  perception  of  those  Rules  which  adher'd  to 
wiU  secure  my  Tranquillity  in  this  life  and  my  hap- 
piness in  the  next.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  much 
this  meditation  exalted  the  pleasure  of  my  present 
situation  &  at  the  same  time  check'd  the  excess 
of  it. 

About  two  o'clock  we  discover' d,  as  we  thought, 
the  Inlet  of  Cape  Fear  and  saw  a  small  Vessel  going 
in  before  us.     At  three  we  came  so  near  as  to  see 


72  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

a  Ship  at  Anchor  within  the  Harbour.  From  that 
time  til  four  we  were  trying  in  vain  to  bring  our 
Land  marks  to  bear,  perplex' d  with  the  shoalness 
of  the  Water  and  with  the  Breakers  we  saw  ahead. 
At  last,  dreading  some  mistake,  we  try'd  to  stretch 
out  again  to  sea,  but  the  Wind  &  tide  were  so 
strong  against  us  we  could  not.  Then  we  run  in  as 
well  as  we  could.  A  little  after  four  o'clock  the  Ship 
thump'd  on  the  ground  about  two  leagues  distant 
from  the  shore.  At  the  same  time  that  this  shock 
made  my  feet  start  from  the  Deck  it  rais'd  my  heart 
from  its  place.  The  People  Star'd  at  one  Another, 
and  the  Dog  with  his  tail  between  his  feet  run  into 
the  Steerage.  After  a  few  of  these  strokes  the  ship 
went  forward  no  more,  but  was  only  lifted  up  with 
the  Sea  and  let  fall  in  the  same  place.  It  luckily 
happen'd  to  be  sand,  and  she  stuck  right  on  her 
Keel.  The  Pump  was  tried  ;  as  yet  she  made  no 
water.  The  Sails  were  left  standing  to  hinder  her 
from  Striking,  and  the  Yawl  was  hoisted  out  with 
5  hands  to  search  for  the  Channel.  They  returned, 
finding  it  all  shoal  round.  Now  we  fir'd  Guns  and 
made  other  Signals  of  distress,  tho'  we  knew  no 
help  could  come  to  us  against  such  a  wind  and  tide. 
While  we  were  lying  in  this  posture,  the  man  who 
•was  left  in  the  boat  to  prevent  her  staving  against 
the  Ship  let  his  rope  Slip,  and  away  he  went.  He 
had  nought  on  but  a  shirt  &  P  of  trewsers,  no  sub- 
sistence, no  help  in  the  boat,  and  above  two  leagues 
to  the  Harbour.  Tho'  the  Wind  was  in,  the  tide 
was  almost  spent,  so  we  gave  up  the  man  for  lost ; 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     73 

but  that  was  a  small  matter  to  us  compar'd  to  the 
loss  of  the  boat  and  the  Oars  on  which  our  own 
lives  depended.  Towards  High  water  between  7  & 
8  o'clock  it  looked  very  black,  thunder'd  and  light- 
ened much,  so  that  we  expected  a  Storm  and  to 
pass  our  last  night  but  uncomfortably.  Yet  the 
Common  Sailors  shew'd  the  same  Stupidity,  the 
same  inconcern  about  a  future  State,  and  the  same 
disregard  of  a  Supreme  Power  now  they  were  about 
to  die  as  they  had  done  in  their  lives. 

A  Black  Dismal  night  Succeeded  and  the  Wind 
increased,  but  by  this  time  the  Water  left  us  at  rest 
upon  the  Sand  and  the  Wind  drove  the  Waves 
against  the  ship  as  against  a  Rock,  the  noise  of 
which  prevented  me  from  Sleeping  tho  I  was  very 
much  fatigued  with  helping  to  heave  out  Balast  to 
lighten  the  ship.  At  last  about  twelve  o' Clock  I 
fell  fast  a  Sleep  and  was  so  happy  as  quite  to  forget 
the  Condition  I  was  in  til  near  three  next  morning, 
when  I  wakd  calm  and  in  good  Spirits.  Now  it 
being  low  Water,  we  saw  there  was  not  above  two 
feet  Water  all  round,  and  the  Cap*  now  first  lost  all 
hopes  of  the  Ship  and  cried  like  a  Child.  I  had 
put  up  the  night  before  a  Candlebox  with  a  couple 
of  Shirts,  some  papers  &c,  and  was  puting  in  the 
Silver  Spoons ;  but  the  Cabin  boy  told  me  to  put 
them  in  my  pockets,  for  they  would  be  taken  out  of 
the  box.  "  A  good  thought,"  said  I,  ^'  George,  they 
will  help  to  sink  me  the  sooner  when  turn'd  a  Drift, 
and  if  I  'm  sav'd  they  '11  be  safe."  While  I  was 
lying  awake  and  the  waves  giving  us  long  warning 


74  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

of  their  Approach  I  thought  my  self  very  lucky 
that  my  wife  was  not  with  me,  and  now  I  had  a 
very  lively  view  of  the  vanity  of  all  worldly  Posses- 
sions. Here  was  a  good  Vessel,  which  we  imagined 
was  in  a  few  hours  to  be  safe  in  her  port,  like  to  be 
reduced  to  a  wreck,  and  ourselves  glad  to  give  up 
every  thing  to  save  our  lives  and  but  httle  prospect 
of  that.  Now  what  avail' d  all  the  Studies,  cares 
&  fatigue  of  my  life  except  those  which  tended  to 
imj)rove  me  in  Virtue  and  Religion  ?  Now  it  was 
my  greatest  Support  to  have  a  firm  perswasion  that 
whether  God  intended  my  life  or  Death  it  was  in 
Mercy  to  me ;  if  life,  to  wean  me  still  more  from 
the  world  and  give  me  another  Instance  of  De- 
liverance never  to  be  forgot;  if  Death  to  take 
me  out  of  the  way  of  approaching  Temptation 
and  for  Exercise  to  the  Piety  of  those  concerned 
in  me. 

Our  Hopes  began  again  to  dawn  with  the  Day, 
at  least  of  being  safe  in  our  Hves.  The  Weather 
was  moderate  &  the  wind  off  shore,  a  thing  very 
uncommon  on  this  coast  at  this  Season.  About 
Sunrise  we  saw  a  Boat  coming  out,  which  in  a  little 
time  came  to  an  Anchor  and  made  a  Signal  for  us 
to  send  our  Boat  to  her  ;  but  we  could  not,  having 
nothing  but  a  great  Long  boat,  no  Sails  and  but 
two  oars.  As  soon  as  there  was  water  sufficient  she 
made  toward  us  and  to  our  great  Joy  we  found  it 
was  the  Pilot  of  Winyan,  which  place  we  had  mis- 
taken for  Cape  Fear.  To  bring  you  and  myself 
out  of  this  trouble  a  little  faster  than  he  did,  I  must 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     75 

briefly  let  you  know  that  when  we  saw  him  every 
one,  having  no  hopes  of  saving  the  ship,  began  to 
put  up  what  few  things  they  chused  to  save  to  be 
thrown  on  board  the  boat.     He  boarded  us  about 
seven  and  told  us  that  a  few  yards  distant  from  us 
lay  a  large  parcell  of  Stones  thrown  out  by  another 
ship  in  the  like  distress,  which  if  we  had  hght  upon 
would  infallibly  have  destroyed  us.    Favourd  with  a 
fair  wind  &  moderate  Weather,  he  got  us  off  agam 
about  nine  o'Clock  to  deep  water,  where  you  will 
be  glad  to  leave  us  til  the  next  Day,  being  Satur- 
day, that  we  came  safe  in  here. 

Mrs.  Murray  joined  her  husband  in  August,  1750, 
and  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two  Point  Repose, 
as  the  North  Carolina  plantation  was  fitly  called, 
became  their  home. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  JOHN  MURRAY  OF  PHILIPHAUGH. 

Wilmington,  Nov.  10  1750. 
...  I  am  givhig  up  aU  thoughts  of  Trade  and 
retbing  to  a  Plantation  in  the  Country  there  not  to 
live  in  a  disgraceful  Ease  but  to  be  ready  at  every 
call  to  serve  my  Country  or  my  Friend.  When  I 
was  appointed  one  of  his  Majestys  Council  for  this 
Province  about  Eleven  year  ago  there  were  Eight 
before  me  now  I  stand  the  fourth  in  the  List  —  this 
oface  to  compare  small  thmgs  with  great  is  like 
your  Attendance  on  Parliament  it  gives  me  the 
benefit  of  a  two  hundred  Miles  Ride  twice  a  Year, 
some  Influence  in  the  Country  and  some  Power  to 


76  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

promote  the  good  of  it  That  and  the  Charge  of 
Sisters  Family  and  the  Independence  I  can  live  in 
are  my  Chief  Inducements  to  spend  the  rest  of  my 
Days  here  and  never  more  to  think  of  crossing  the 
Atlantick.  .  .  .  M""  Rutherford  with  all  his  easy  Tem- 
per is  more  pushing  than  one  would  imagine  he  is 
daily  expected  here  with  a  Commission  for  Receiv"" 
Gen^  of  the  Kings  Quitrents  and  a  Considerable 
Cargo  both  obtaind  as  we  hear  by  the  Assistance 
of  M""  Dinwiddie  —  his  Place  will  be  attended  with 
much  fatigue  and  Perquisites  worth  about  two  hun- 
dred a  year. 

My  Wife  desires  to  be  dutifully  remembered  with 
me  to  Lady  Philiphaugh  and  all  your  family.  I  have 
at  last  got  her  from  Boston  to  help  to  plant  this 
New  Country  but  not  till  I  went  for  her  —  In  May 
last  I  arrived  in  Boston  and  left  it  the  end  of 
August  by  which  I  had  an  opportunity  of  spend- 
ing three  of  the  most  disagreeable  Months  of  this 
Climate  in  that  poor  Healthy  Place  New  England 
—  their  Health  they  owe  to  Gods  goodness  their 
Poverty  to  their  own  bad  Policy  and  this  to  their 
Popular  Government. 

I  have  Httle  to  say  of  om*  Friends  here  but 
that  they  are  all  well  —  my  Eldest  daughter  is  the 
only  Child  I  have  now  alive  she  is  a  thumping 
Girl.^  My  Sister  Clark  has  three  fine  boys  and  a 
Daughter. 

The  temporary  shelter  which  held  the  family  at 

1  Of  the  death  of  the  daughter  born  in  Boston  there  is  no  mention. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLD^A  77 
first  was  before  long  replaced  by  a  comfortable  brick 
mansion,  and  though  the  tale  of  deaths  foUowing 
hard  upon  births,  bearing  evidence  to  the  unhealth- 
iness  of  the  clhnate,  is  a  sad  one,  the  general  tone 
of  hfe  there  was  that  of  cheerful  success.'  Mr. 
Murray's  letters  to  Mrs.  Bennet,  and  to  Mrs.  Clark, 
who,  in  1753,  went  back  to  Scotland,  give  an  idea  of 
the  varied  and  healthful  interests  of  the  planter's 
life,  as  well  as  of  his  unf aihng  kindness  to  his  sister, 
now  dependent  on  him  for  support. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  BARBARA  CLARK. 

Cape  Fear,  Febr^  26*,  1755. 

...  I  have  about  100  thous'd  Bricks  bm'n^  & 
am  to  begin  my  House,  if  the  Bricklayer  keep  his 
word,  early  next  Month.  My  Crop  of  Rice  comes 
much  short  of  my  expectation,  partly  by  its  having 
been  too  rank  &  Lodging  &  partly  from  Ignorance  & 
want  of  Convenience  to  manage  it.     The  middle  part 

James  Murray's  children,  so  far  as  the  letters  and  records   show 
were  :  — 

Dorothy,  b.  1745,  in  London;  died  1811. 

Daughter,  b.  Jan.  1749,  in  Boston;  died . 

Archibald,  b.  July  1751,  in  North  Carolina;  died  1753. 

John. 

Jean,  b.  1754,  in  North  Carolina;  died  1758.- 

Elizabeth,  b.  1756,  in  North  Carolina;  died  1837. 

Infant,  b.  1758,  in  North  Carolina;  died  1758. 

1  He  was  always  supported  by  a  philosophic  habit  of  mind.  Of  a 
cousiVs  death  he  wrote,  for  example,  in  1757,  "  These  Incidents 
ought  to  learn  us  to  lean  little  on  Comforts  of  that  kind  &  to  re- 
semble  old  Officers  season'd  in  Service,  who  are  not  so  much  on- 
ce'nd  to  see  their  Freinds  dropping  from  about  them  as  watchful  to^ 
do  their  own  part,  tiU  it  comes  to  their  Turn  to  faU. 


78  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

of  my  Log  house  I  was  obliged  to  turn  into  a 
Barn  to  pound  the  Rice  in,  not  being  able  to  get  a 
bricklayer  in  time  last  fall  to  build  a  Barn,  and  tho 
I  still  continue  Secretary  the  Money  I  get  since  the 
Presidents  Currency  came  out  is  all  proc.  This 
renders  My  remittance  for  you  and  my  Creditors 
Slacker  &  more  difficult  than  I  expected  it.  I  thank 
God,  however  I  have  Received  &  am  to  receive  suf- 
ficient to  make  both  them  &  you  easier,  &  the  money 
employed  in  raising  your  Nursery  gives  me  more 
pleasure  than  any  I  spend  otherways,  so  you  ought 
not  to  abate  that  pleasure  by  uneasiness  or  repining 
on  that  Score.  If  Indigo  holds  its  price,  or  any  thing 
near  it,  I  shall  be  able  to  do  a  great  deal,  &  so  will 
the  province  in  general.^ 

JAMES  MUKKAY  TO  RICHARD  OSWALD  &  CO. 

Cape  Fear,  Feb.  28,  1755. 
.  .  .  Being  well  acquainted  with  your  Publick 
Spirit,  I  beg  leave  to  put  you  in  mind  of  represent- 
ing to  the  Lords  of  Trade  &  Admiralty  the  Excel- 
lent quahty  of  our  Cypress  &  its  fitness  for  Masts, 
&  how  much  it  would  tend  to  increase  our  Shipping 
if  proper  encouragement  could  be  had  for  Sending 
home  our  pine  plank,  which  far  exceeds  that  of  Nor- 
way which  you  buy  with  ready  money,  whereas  our^ 
would  be  the  purchase  of  your  own  Manufactores. 

^  His  success  in  indigo  was  fair.  In  1759  he  wrote  to  his  brother 
John,  "  I  have  made  about  1000  lb  to  my  share  this  year,  besides 
Rice  and  Tar  and  might  have  made  clear  double  that  quantity  had 
my  Overseer  been  good." 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     79 

The  bounty  on  Indigo  &  several  other  Articles  is  a 
proof  how  usefnll  that  kind  of  reward  is  to  drive 
people  out  of  a  beaten  Track  of  mispending  their 
Time  into  unprofitable  exports.  The  people  of  this 
Province  are  about  30,000,  who  from  their  Poverty 
&  the  Scarcity  of  European  goods,  the  Effect  of 
their  poverty,  are  obliged  to  waste  much  of  their 
time  in  the  Manufactures  of  wool,  flax  &  Cotton 
which  with  a  vast  deal  more  benefit  to  themselves  as 
well  as  to  the  Mother  Country  might  be  employed 
in  making  the  rough  Materials  to  be  Manufactored 
where  Labour  is  Cheap  &  the  Climate  &  soil  more 
inhospitable.  The  Poverty  of  this  Province  appears 
to  me  (but  to  few  in  the  Province  beside  me)  to  be 
owing  in  a  great  measure  to  our  dabling  in  a  paper 
Currency  &  dispensing  with  all  special  Contracts, 
under  pretince  of  supporting  the  Credit  of  that  Cur- 
rency, but  in  truth  to  answer  the  ill  designs  of  the 
Champions  for  it  to  enable  them  to  pay  their  Credit- 
ors on  their  own  terms.  Another  cause  of  our  Pov- 
erty, idleness  &  uselessness  to  our  Mother  Country, 
&  likewise  of  the  thinness  of  our  Settlements,  [is]  a 
Single  person  being  able  to  hold  a  great  quantity 
at  a  low  rent  without  Cultivation.  All  Instructions 
restraining  this  are  continualy  broke  thro.  A  more 
effectual  way  to  remedy  the  past  ills  of  this  kind  & 
to  prevent  the  future  seems  to  be  to  impose  a  smart 
Land  tax,  either  by  the  General  union,  if  it  takes 
place,  if  not  by  act  of  Parliament.  Such  an  act 
might  be  so  contrived  as  to  procure  a  good  rent  roll 
for  the  Crown  thro  out  the  Provinces,  a  Consider- 


80  JAMES  MUKRAY,  LOYALIST 

able  part  of  this  Tax  to  be  applied  to  encourage 
Manufactures  benificial  to  the  Province  &  Great 
Britain.  I  make  no  Apology  for  these  Hints.  Use 
them  as  you  please.  Our  Governor  ^  has  the  Interest 
of  the  Crown  &  his  Government  much  at  heart,  but 
does  not  throughly  understand  the  ill  Tendency  of  a 
paper  Currency,  especially  to  a  poor  Colony,  as  will 
be  evident  to  you  when  I  send  you  his  plan  for  a 
Land  Bank.  To  this  plan  it  seems  he  has  got  the 
previous  Concurrence  of  the  Lords  of  Trade,  &  it  is 
to  come  under  consideration  next  Assembly  in  No- 
vember. If  it  passes,  it  will  continue  us  in  spite  of 
Indigo  so  much  the  longer  useless  to  our  selves  &  the 
Mother  Country. 

JAMES  MUREAY  TO  SAMPSON  SIMPSON. 

M^  Sampson  Simpson  > 
Merch'  in  New  York  ) 

Cape  Fear,  Sept.  4,  1756. 
...  If  you  Can  meet  with  a  Sober  diligent  man  with 
or  without  a  familly,  Skilld  in  Tanning  and  Curry- 
ing, I  desire  the  favour  of  you  to  engage  him  for  me 
for  three  years  at  the  rate  of  forty  Pounds  Sterling 
payable  in  the  Currency  of  this  Province  yearly,  or 
thirty  Pounds  like  Money  payable  as  aforesaid  with 
Provision,  lodging  &  washing.  I  shall  pay  the  Cus- 
tomary Passage  for  one  or  two  persons,  provide  him 
a  House  &  Some  ground  to  Plante,  about  5  Acres 

1  Governor  Dobbs,  who  had  recently  succeeded  to  the  governor- 
ship upon  the  death  of  Governor  Johnson.  Mr.  Murray's  opposition 
to  this  measure  and  to  others  proposed  by  Dobbs  drew  down  upon 
him  the  governor's  ill-will. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     81 

fenced  in  for  himself  if  he  has  a  familly.  You  may 
put  an  advertisement  in  your  paper  for  this  purpose 
if  you  see  it  necessary,  and  let  me  Know  before 
Christmas,  whether  I  Can  be  Suplied  by  you. 

JAMES  MUREAY  TO  JOHN  WALLACE. 

Mr.  John  Wallace     } 
Merch*  in  New  York  ) 

Cape  Fear,  Sep*  4,  1756. 

...  I  am  also  in  need  of  good  Sawyer  to  tend  a 

Saw  Mill,  which  when  well  tended  &  in  a  Common 

year  will  Cut  about  100  Thousa"^  feet.     To  such  a 

one  I  would  be  wiUing  to  give  a  tenth  part  of  the 

Lumber  Sawn.   ...  If  M''  FrankHn  would  Send  me 

his  Gazette  postage  free,  it  Should  be  punctualy 

paid  for,  &  it  would  also  oblige  our  President,  who 

is  my  next  Neighbour.  .  .  • 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  RICHARD  OSWALD  &  CO. 

Cape  Fear,  July  19,  1756. 
...  I  find  also  by  a  trial  that  my  overseer,  a  Swiss, 
has  made  both  this  year  &  last  that  silk  may  be  made 
here  to  great  advantage.  The  worms  thrive  un- 
commonly, fed  with  the  leaves  of  wild  Mulberry. 
Whether  they  will  be  equally  healthy  upon  the  ItaHan 
I  Shall  know,  as  I  intend  to  Plant  out  2000  trees 
next  year.  This,  I  hope,  will  entitle  me  to  the 
bounty  of  your  improving  society  in  London.  I 
have  forgot  its  name.  I  shall  send  you  a  specimen 
of  the  silk. 


82  JAJMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

JAMES  MUERAY  TO  BARBARA  CLARK. 

Cape  Fear,  Februry  8'h,  1757. 

.  .  .  The  accounts  you  give  of  the  Children's 
health  &  progress  except  Jammy's  are  very  Satisfac- 
tory. Only  I  think  the  Master  is  to  blame  for  keep- 
ing back  Tommy  in  Compleisance  to  his  Brother. 
We  cannot  expect  that  Jam  will  in  his  sickly  way 
come  any  great  Length,  whereas  Tom's  genius  ought 
to  be  improv'd  to  the  uttermost.  It  is  my  Settled 
Intention  if  I  live,  &  let  my  Family  Increase  as  it 
will,  to  carry  on  Tom's  Education  at  the  Expence  of 
£200  or  <£300  Ster.  and  to  make  a  Lawyer  of  him, 
if  he  has  not  an  aversion  to  it.  Brother  John  pro- 
poses to  take  charge  of  his  Namesake,  &  Jammy 
must  come  out  with  you  when  the  others  have  done 
with  their  Schools,  or  sooner  by  himself  when  the 
war  is  over,  if  the  Doctor's  think  it  wiU  be  for  the 
Benifit  of  his  health.  .   .  . 

I  am  much  oblig'd  to  Lady  Don  for  her  kindness 
to  you  &  the  Children  &  shall  contrive  some  such 
way  as  you  propose  to  make  my  Acknowledgments 
to  her. 

When  the  French  and  Indian  wars  broke  out, 
Mr.  Murray  followed  with  interest  the  movements 
of  his  friend  Captain  Innes.  "You  will  be  in- 
formed e'er  this,"  he  wrote  on  September  4,  1754, 
to  Captain  Archibald  Douglas,  "  that  our  old  friend 
Col.  Innes  has  the  chief  command  of  the  American 
forces  aboard  the  Ohio,  where  he  has  an  enemy 
alert  in  their  preparations  and  notions,  well  sup- 


A  PIOXEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA     83 

ported,  and  only  a  few  ragged  men  from  these  dis- 
contented colonies  without  money  or  provisions  to 
oppose  them.  Thus  he  is  like  to  gather  few  laurels 
on  these  mountains.  He  had  better  have  stayed  at 
home  to  gather  Hghtwood." 

Perhaps  it  was  the  influence  of  Dr.  Franklin's 
gazette  that  inclined  him  favorably  to  the  "  plan  of 
general  union  "  mentioned  in  the  following  letter, 
although  it  could  not  endue  him  with  belief  in  the 
immediate  greatness  of  America. 

JAMES  MURKAY   TO   JOHN   RUTHERFORD. 

Cape  Fear,  March  3^  1755. 

.  .  .  About  a  fortnight  ago  I  had  the  Pleasure 
to  receive  your  fav''  &  from  the  Camp  at  Wills 
Creek.  The  calling  you  off  from  your  Connections 
&  Improvements  at  home  I  dare  say  must  be  a 
great  Mortification  to  you,  your  Lady  &  Friends, 
but  I  would  fain  hope  you  will  do  the  Business  of 
the  French  so  speedily  that  it  will  only  be  a  short 
Kecess  &  give  a  better  ReHsh  to  your  Retirement. 
The  Plan  of  the  General  Union  or  some  thing  Hke 
it  seems  absolutely  necessary  to  bring  the  Colonies 
to  act  with  Vigour  in  their  own  Defence,  &  it  is 
thought  such  Union  will  prove  a  Step  in  the  Scheme 
of  Providence  for  fixing  in  Time  an  Empire  in 
America.     But  this  will  be  long  after  our  Day. 

Every  Body  in  this  province  (one  only  excepted) 
readily  acknowledges  Col.  Innes's  fitness  for  the 
Task  he  is  engaged  in,  and  will  be  as  ready  to  thank 


84  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

him  in  words  for  His  Services  but  as  to  pecuniary- 
Reward  I  dare  say  they  will  not  think  of  it.  His 
Fortunes  they  know  are  not  only  easy,  but  opulent. 
Theirs  in  general  are  not  so.  The  paper  Money 
they  are  so  bewitchingly  fond  of  gives  them,  't  is 
true,  some  temporary  Relief,  but  certainly  brings 
Discredit,  Perfidy  &  Poverty  in  the  Rear. 

If  Indigo  succeeds,  as  we  have  Reason  to  hope, 
the  value  of  our  Export  wiU  be  so  increased  as  to 
remove  several  of  the  bad  Effects  of  our  Paper  Coin ; 
but  if  that  fails,  we  must  spin  &  weave  &  brew  for 
ourselves.  No  body  wiU  deal  with  us.  But  to  re- 
turn to  a  more  agreeable  Subject,  your  Letter.  .  .  . 
M'^s  Murray  &  my  two  Daughters,^  the  eldest  & 
youngest  of  Six  Children,  are  now  all  my  Stock,  & 
are  very  healthy  &  hearty.  My  Wife  has  not  had 
an  Hour's  sickness  since  she  has  been  in  the  Pro- 
vince. This  and  some  good  Luck  as  Temporary 
Secretary  render  the  CHmate  and  other  Cii'cum- 
stances  tolerably  easy  to  us.  .  .  . 

M""  EUiot,  Sir  Gilbert's  Son,  about  whom  you  en- 
quire, is  making  moderate  bread  as  a  Lawyer,  & 
that  in  spite  of  great  Modesty,  Integrity  &  disin- 
terestedness. Qualities  for  which  the  Gentlemen  of 
that  Profession  in  this  Province  are  not  in  General 
very  remarkable. 

Of  Braddock's  defeat  he  wrote  January  14,  1756, 
to  his  cousin  Lady  Mary  Don :  "  Being  here  at  a 
distance  both  from  the  scene  and  season  of  war,  it 

^  Dorothy  and  Jean. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA      85 

is  out  of  my  power  to  give  you  any  information  on 
that  head,  only  that  our  hopes  of  success  are  as  san- 
guine, and  we  think  better  founded  than  ever,  since 
the  French  have  been  so  depressed  at  sea  and  have 
taught  us  how  to  attack  and  defend  in  the  woods. 
But  whatever  coup  de  maitre  by  negotiation  or  arms 
the  French  have  in  reserve  for  us,  it  can  hardly  be 
more  surprising  than  was  Braddock's  defeat,  not  in- 
deed to  everybody,  for  men  of  experience,  some  of 
them  I  have  conversed  with,  saw  him  by  council  and 
conduct  a  bird  ready  for  the  snare." 

"While  Governor  Johnston  lived  Mr.  Murray's  in- 
terest in  public  affairs  was  active,  though  he  did  not 
by  any  means  support  all  the  Governor's  measures. 
Johnston  had  died  in  1752.  In  1753  Mr.  Murray 
was  appointed  "  Secretary,  Clerk  of  the  Council  and 
Clerk  of  the  Crown,"  but  he  was  not  in  sympathy 
with  Johnston's  successor.  Governor  Dobbs,  who  was 
appointed  in  1754.  Friction  soon  arose  between 
them,  which  resulted  in  1757  in  the  suspension  by 
the  Governor  of  Mr.  Murray,  as  well  as  of  his  friend 
John  Rutherford,  then  receiver  -  general  of  quit- 
rents,  from  their  seats  as  members  of  the  Council 
until  his  Majesty's  pleasure  should  be  known. 
Through  exertions  of  friends  in  England,  however, 
who  presented  the  matter  before  the  proper  authori- 
ties, both  were  in  1762,  by  his  Majesty  with  the  ad- 
vice of  his  Privy  Council,  reinstated,  Mr.  Murray 
being  restored  to  the  rank  he  held  at  the  time  of 
his  suspension.      Thi3,  owing  to  the  death  of  the 


86  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

senior  member,  placed  him  first  in  the  Hst,  with  the 
ex-officio  rank  of  president  of  the  Council.  The 
suspension  seems  to  have  given  him  Httle  concern, 
nor  are  the  matters  in  controversy  clearly  stated  in 
his  letters,  but  they  may  be  gathered  from  the 
printed  records. 

The  underlying  cause  of  the  suspension,  and  the 
kernel  of  the  whole  matter,  was  Mr.  Murray's  oppo- 
sition to  Governor  Dobbs.  This  is  apparent  from  a 
letter  written  by  the  Governor  himself  to  the  Board 
of  Trade,  dated  December  27,  1757,  in  which  he 
states  his  case  against  the  two  councilors,  and  in 
which  Mr.  Murray  is  made  to  figure  in  the  novel  role 
of  leader  of  a  junto,  enemy  of  the  royal  prerogative, 
and  popular  agitator.  This  letter  contains  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs  :  — 

"  First  it  appeared  plain  to  me  that  they  [Murray 
and  Rutherford]  and  2  others  had  agreed  always  to 
vote  together  in  Council  and  others  being  disunited 
that  they  might  carry  or  reject  what  Bills  they 
thought  proper,  and  thus  by  a  party  to  make  it 
necessary  to  the  Governour  to  confide  in  them  and 
govern  by  a  party.  But  I  had  also  further  reasons 
against  Mr.  Murray,  who  piqued  himself  in  leading 
and  advising  the  Junto,  that  he  as  one  of  the  Coun- 
cil endeavored  to  lessen  his  Majesty's  prerogative 
and  add  to  the  power  of  the  Assembly :  That  he 
had  endeavored  to  form  a  party  in  the  Assembly 
to  make  himself  popular  against  the  Government, 
raised  and  encouraged  a  republican  party,  drew 
clauses  in  the  former  Sessions  which  he  gave  in  his 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     87 

own  handwriting  to  them,  to  obstruct  and  clog  the 
Aid  Bill  by  encroaching  upon  his  Majesty's  pre- 
rogative and  taxing  the  fees  of  his  officers,  and  so 
make  a  division  between  the  Council  and  Assembly 
in  case  they  would  not  carry  the  clause  in  Council. 
However,  his  clauses  were  thrown  out  by  manage- 
ment in  the  Lower  House.  This  I  had  from  several 
of  the  members  of  the  Assembly,  yet  did  not  think  it 
prudent  to  mention  it  in  Council  as  a  charge  against 
him,  but  delayed  it  until  by  his  schemes  something 
further  should  appear  against  him. 

"  This  uniting  their  Interest  together  appeared  in 
their  carryuig  a  Bill  thro  the  Council  by  one  vote 
to  distress  the  Government  by  secluding  several  of 
his  Majesty's  friends  from  sitting  in  future  assem- 
bhes  by  a  Bill  to  regulate  Elections  which  I  rejected, 
a  Copy  of  which  I  send  to  your  Lordships  that  you 
may  see  what  they  and  the  assembly  are  driving  at 
to  raise  their  own  power  and  lessen  their  dependence 
on  the  Crown.  This  Murray  and  his  Junto  did  that 
they  might  make  me  unpopular  with  the  Assembly 
in  rejecting  their  favorite  Bill.  ...  I  therefore 
leave  it  to  your  Lordships  whether  I  have  done  my 
Duty  in  suspending  Mr.  Murray  and  Mr.  Rutherford 
from  the  Council  or  whether  such  a  designing  man 
acting  in  conjunction  with  others  against  the  pre- 
rogatives is  a  fit  person  to  be  restored  and  made  a 
member  of  the  Council."  ^ 

The  ostensible  reason  for  the  suspension,  tlie 
"  something  more  which  should  appear  against  him," 
1  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina^  vol.  v.  p.  946. 


88  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

for  which  the  Governor  waited,  before  suspending 
him  from  the  Council,  was  Mr.  Murray's  issuing 
over  his  signature  printed  "  notes/'  which  by  their 
terms  promised  that  they  should  be  accepted  by  the 
Receiver-General  in  payment  of  quit-rents  due  to  the 
Crown.  These  instruments  were  in  effect  bills 
drawn  upon  the  Eeceiver-General,  by  whom  some  of 
them  were  accepted  by  his  writing  on  the  face  over 
his  signature,  "  To  be  paid  with  interest,"  and  were 
subsequently  received  in  payment  of  quit-rents  from 
the  persons  into  whose  hands  they  came.  The 
charge  was  thus  directed  against  both  Murray  and 
Rutherford.^     The  issue  of   these   bills,  and   their 

^  Governor  Dobbs's  version  of  the  matter,  contained  in  a  letter  of 
Dec.  26,  1757,  to  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  is  this  :  — 

"...  He  [Mr.  Rutherford]  allowed  his  friend  and  adviser,  Mr. 
Murray,  one  of  the  Council,  to  issue  printed  notes  under  hand  and 
seal  without  limitation  to  be  allowed  in  payment  of  Quit  Rents  with 
Interest,  .  .  .  which  he  himself  [Rutherford]  endorsed  or  accepted 
to  give  the  same  a  Sanction,  and  directed  the  several  Sheriffs  to  take 
them  in  payment  of  Quit  Rents,  which  was  an  effectual  way  to  de- 
preciate the  paper  Currency  of  the  Province,  which  he  said  was  with 
an  Intention  that  Mr.  Murray  might  be  paid  his  arrear  due  from  the 
Establishment,  giving  him  the  preference  to  others  without  any  or- 
ders for  it.  Upon  this  sanction  Mr.  Murray  issued  Notes  of  his 
own  to  be  allowed  in  the  Counties  of  New  Hanover,  Onslow,  Duplin 
and  Bladen,  and  upon  the  success  he  had  in  issuing  of  these  he  then 
issued  Notes  to  be  allowed  in  Quit  Rents  over  the  whole  Province 
.  .  .  and  refused  to  pay  them  in  Provincial  currency  or  in  anything 
but  for  Quit  Rents  or  for  Debts  due  to  him,  or  for  Goods  bought 
for  him  at  what  price  he  pleased  to  sell  them,  which  at  least  is  300  p 
cent  currency  upon  sterling  money.  They  said  he  had  issued  but  few, 
for  which  no  evidence  appeared  and  can't  tell  when  it  would  have  ended 
if  they  had  not  been  stop'd  by  Proclamation,  and  after  their  defence 
the  Council  without  a  Negative  voting  Mr.  Rutherford  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor  in  his  Office  I  suspended  him  until  his  Majesty's  plea- 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     89 

acceptance  and  receipt  by  the  Receiver-General  in 
lieu  of  money  was  apparently  irregular,  but  involved 
no  bad  faith  upon  the  part  of  either,  and  was  an 
expedient,  not  without  precedent,  adopted  as  a 
means  of  securing  payment  to  Mr.  Murray  of  arrears 
of  his  salary  then  long  overdue.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  Council,  on  December  1,  1757,^  the  Governor 
brought  the  matter  before  the  Board,  and  an  order 
was  passed  that  a  proclamation  issue  forbidding  the 
receipt  of  any  such  bills  thereafter. 

Rutherford  vigorously  defended  his  course  before 
the  Council.  When  called  upon  by  the  Governor 
to  explain  his  action,  he  answered,"  "  Mr.  Murray 
having  a  salary  due  to  him  from  the  Crown  for  the 
time  he  acted  as  Secretary  and  Clerk  of  the  Crown 
in  this  Province,  &  having  occasion  to  buy  corn  and 
other  Commody  from  the  Planters,  desired  leave 
to  make  use  of  this  expedient  to  get  payment  of  his 
salary,  &  firmly  obhged  himself  to  be  accountable  to 
me  in  money  for  the  surplus  if  any.  This  expedient," 
he  continues,  "  I  consented  to  for  the  following  rea- 
sons :  — 

"1st.     Because  the  receivers,  my  Predecessors, 

sure  is  known,  and  both  him  and  Mr.  Murray  from  the  Council.  .  .  ." 
Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  vol.  v.  p.  941. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  letter  charges  that  the  notes  had  been 
issued  "  without  limitation,"  and  disregards  the  statement  of  Ruther- 
ford and  Murray  that  "  he  had  issued  but  few,"  on  the  ground  that 
no  "  evidence  appeared  "  to  support  it,  thus  casting  on  them  the  bur- 
den of  proving  a  negative.  Rutherford  stated  specifically  that  the 
amount  issued  was  £320. 

1  See  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina^  vol.  v.  p.  821. 

2  See.r&irf.,vol.  V.  p.  937. 


90  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

admitted  of  orders  from  the  Officers  of  the  Crown, 
in  the  like  eases  for  Quit  Rents  and  for  sums  of 
greater  value. 

"  2nd.  Because  I  apprehended  it  to  be  well  cal- 
culated for  easing  the  Tenant  and  enabling,  nay  put- 
ting him  in  mind,  to  pay  his  rents,  and  at  the  same 
time  for  discharging  the  debts  of  the  Crown  with- 
out depreciating  the  Currency,  —  No  person  being 
compelled  to  take  those  notes  in  payment,  and  the 
sum  issued  inconsiderable. 

"  3rd.  The  sum  Mr.  Murray  issued  in  notes  was 
three  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  of  which  there  are 
not  more  now  circulating  than  eighty  eight,  and  that 
shall  speedily  be  called  in." 

The  defense  was,  however,  addressed  to  unwilling 
ears,  and  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  the  Council 
of  December  14,  1757,  contain  the  following  re- 
cord of  the  suspension :  " .  .  .  and  on  account  of 
the  Issuing  the  Printed  notes  under  hand  and  Seal 
by  James  Murray  Esquire  promising  the  same  should 
be  accepted  by  the  Receiver  General  in  payment  of 
his  Majesty's  Quit  Rents  and  the  same  being  agreed 
to  be  accepted  in  payment  of  his  Majesty's  Quit 
Rents  by  John  Rutherford,  Esqr.  Receiver  General 
of  his  Majesty's  Quit  Rents  His  Excellency  was 
pleased  to  suspend  the  said  James  Murray  and  John 
Rutherford  Esqr  as  Members  of  his  Majesty's  Coun- 
cil for  this  Province,  and  the  said  James  Murray  and 
John  Rutherford  are  accordingly  suspended  until  his 
Majesty's  pleasure  be  known."  ^ 

1  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina^  vol.  v.  p.  827. 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA     91 

In  a  memorial  addressed  to  the  "  Lords  Commis- 
sioners for  Trade  and  Plantations/'  praying  for  an 
inquiry  and  for  redress,  Mr.  Murray  states  that  he 
was  "  suspended  from  his  seat  ...  by  his  Excel- 
lency Governor  Dobbs  without  being  accused  of  or 
being  conscious  to  himself  of  having  been  guilty  of 
any  crime  or  misdemeanor  whatsoever."  ^  The  Lords 
Commissioners  sustained  the  Governor  and  recom- 
mended to  the  Crown  that  the  suspension  of  both 
Rutherford  and  Murray  be  confirmed.  Their  recom- 
mendation was  based  rather  upon  the  general  charges 
of  factious  opposition  contained  in  the  Governor's 
letter  than  upon  the  issue  of  the  bills,  as  to  which 
as  a  sufficient  ground  for  suspension  they  appear  to 
have  entertained  doubt.  "  We  must  beg  leave  to 
submit  to  your  Majesty,"  they  reported,  "  whether 
the  Reasons  entred  on  the  Council  Journals, 
grounded  as  it  appears  on  Facts  fully  proved  in 
Council,  might  not  alone  be  sufficient  to  justify  such 
suspensions  and  to  induce  your  Majesty  to  confirm 
them  ;  but  if  it  be  true,  as  Mr.  Dobbs  alledges  in 
his  letter,  .  .  .  that  these  gentlemen  have  formed 
parties  in  the  Council  and  Assembly  with  design  to 
embarrass  and  oppose  your  Majesty's  Prerogative 
and  to  add  to  the  Power  of  the  Assembly,  We  are 
humbly  of  opinion  that  it  is  necessary  for  the  Peace 
and  good  government  of  North  CaroHna,  as  well  as 
for  the  support  of  your  Majesty's  said  Governor  in  his 
administration,  that  they  should  be  removed."  ^ 

1  Colonial  Records  of  North  Carolina,  vol.  v.  p.  956. 

2  Ibid.f  vol.  V.  p.  957. 


92  JMIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

The  recommendation  of  the  Lords  Commissioners 
bore  date  May  12,  1758.  No  further  action  ap- 
pears to  have  been  taken  by  the  Crown  in  the  matter 
until  1763,  when  by  order  of  his  Majesty  (George 
III.  since  1760)  both  Murray  and  Rutherford  were 
reinstated  as  has  been  abeady  explained. 

A  few  passages  from  Mr.  Murray's  letters  will 
serve  to  show  how  lightly  the  whole  matter  touched 
him.  To  his  brother  John  he  wrote,  in  January, 
1759 :  — 

"I  can  no  longer  delay  my  acknowledgments 
for  the  most  friendly  &  Zealous  part  you  have 
acted  in  my  Affairs.  I  could  wish  indeed  that  you 
had  the  same  View  of  them  that  I  have  taken  since 
I  have  been  untied  from  the  World  by  the  Loss 
of  the  greatest  Blessing,  the  greatest  Comfort  I  had 
in  it.^  You  would  then  have  saved  a  deal  of  Trouble 
&  vexation  to  your  self  &  my  good  friend  your 
Father  in  Law.  In  my  present  Temper  &  Circum- 
stances I  had  much  rather  be  the  private  man  mind- 
ing my  Farm  &  endeavouring  to  leave  something 
clear  to  my  Family  than  be  the  Zealous  Counsellor 
strugling  against  the  Stream  for  Measures  thought 
right  &  hated  or  envied  by  those  I  contended  for. 
I  cannot,  indeed,  say  that  my  Zeal  has  been  always 
temper' d  with  that  meekness  and  Prudence  which 
ought  to  be  the  Cardinal  Virtues  of  a  man  in  public 
Life." 

And  to  John  Murray  of  PhiHphaugh  in  1760  :  — 

^  This  letter  was  written  after  the  death  of  Mrs.  Murray. 


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A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     93 

Boston,  August  6th,  1760. 
...  I  find  by  all  hands  you  continue  to  be  the 
same  Zealous  Patron  of  your  Friends  that  Philip- 
haugh  used  to  be.  I  am  sorry,  however,  you  should 
have  had  so  much  solicitation  on  my  account  by 
Reason  of  Govr.  Dobb's  Suspension.  That  gentle- 
man by  the  extraordinary  efforts  of  his  power  in 
more  Suspensions  and  Removals  &c.  &c.  has  done 
all  that  in  him  lies  to  establish  properly  his  own 
Character  and  that  of  his  opponents.  The  seven 
votes  and  addresses  which  have  lately  passed  almost 
unanimously  in  his  Genl.  Assembly  will  probably 
appear  in  your  public  papers  and  show  in  what 
light  he  stands  here.  As  I  have  taken  no  part  in 
these  Squables  he  has  nothing  new  to  charge  me 
with,  and  I  hope  it  will  not  be  in  his  power  for  the 
former  score  to  keep  me  out  of  the  list  in  the  next 
Commission.  This  is  the  more  material  as  I  am  now 
the  first,  by  the  death  of  the  late  President.  .  .  . 

In  a  letter  of  1761  he  said  to  his  brother :  — 
"  As  to  the  politicks  of  our  province,  it  is  some 
time  since  you  knew  my  Sentiments  of  them  and 
the  Httle  desire  I  had  to  be  again  engaged  in  them, 
so  little  that  I  would  not  trouble  my  Friends  with 
a  Justification  of  my  Conduct,  which  you  hinted 
to  be  necessary.  They,  I  knew,  did  me  Justice  in 
their  own  Opinion.  And  there  was  no  room  to  ex- 
pect it,  let  me  say  whatever  I  could,  from  a  board 
which  had  condemned  me  unheard,  upon  no  heavy 
charge.     From  the  apparent  partiality  and  Credulity 


94  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

of  the  first  Commissioner,  the  Dominus  factotum,  to 
my  Opponent  I  imagined  it  in  vain  to  make  my 
personal  appearance  at  home,  altho  I  could  have 
been  well  supported  with  money.  Mr.  Rutherfurd's 
tedious  attendance,  successful  though  it  may  be  in 
the  end,  is  sufficient  to  deter  every  man  of  less  pa- 
tience and  Assiduity  than  himself,  that  is  about  99 
in  100.  Could  I  have  foreseen  the  change  in  the 
ministry,  encouraged  by  the  prospect  I  should  have 
been  ambitious  enough  to  have  accepted  of  your 
Invitation  and  of  the  support  that  was  offered  me. 
Now  I  believe  it  too  late.  From  this  you  perceive 
that  I  have  seen  your  Letter  of  the  7th  June,  1760, 
to  my  Sister,  which  overtook  me  in  my  way  South- 
ward at  Philadelphia;  and  on  my  return  home  I 
met  with  your  long  and  distinct  letter  to  me  of  the 
15th  December,  1759,  giving  the  whole  process  of 
Mr.  Rutherfurd's  affairs  and  mine  at  the  boards. 
Tliis  afforded  great  satisfaction,  not  only  to  me  but 
to  all  our  Friends  to  whom  it  was  proper  to  show  it, 
which  were  the  fewer,  that  the  old  Gentleman  our 
Governor  might  not  be  further  exasperated." 

In  the  letter  of  March  3,  1755,  to  John  Ruther- 
ford, Mr.  Murray  referred  to  his  wife's  constant 
good  health.  A  wet  and  sickly  season  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1757,  however,  brought  on  a  low  fever,  which 
was  partly  checked  by  change  of  air  only  to  come 
back  in  full  force  with  the  autumn.  Her  illness 
continued  with  alarming  symptoms  through  the  win- 
ter until,  on  the  19th  of  February,  she  died.  Her 
infant  daughter  survived  her  only  a  fortnight,  and 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     95 

the  death  of  Httle  Jean,  a  child  of  engaging  quah- 
ties,  followed  hard  upon. 

The  letters  of  this  period  speak  for  themselves. 

JAMES    MURRAY   TO    DOROTHY    MURRAY. 

Cape  Fear,  March  21,  1758. 

My  dear  Dolly/  —  Your  Letter  to  your  Mama 
of  the  20*^  Feb  came  to  my  hand  a  few  days  since 
with  the  worked  chair,  both  of  which  would  have 
given  her  great  pleasure,  but  she  is  gone  to  enjoy 
pleasures  infinitely  greater.  This  Loss,  both  you 
&  I  have  Reason  to  thank  God,  will  be  well  made 
up  to  you  in  an  Aunt  whose  Affection  has  been 
always  more  like  a  Mamas  than  an  aunt's ;  and  as 
to  the  two  younger  Children,  if  they  Survive,  't  is 
probable  I  may  get  them  tollerably  well  taken  care 
of  'till  you  come  up  to  be  a  Mother  to  them.  If 
you  answer  my  expectations,  you  may  rest  assured  I 
shall  be  as  good  a  father  as  you  can  desire.  Such 
a  one  the  Children  of  the  best  of  Wives  deserves, 
and  shall  glory  in  denying  my  self  the  enjoyments 
of  a  world  I  am  shortly  to  leave  in  purpose  that 
you  may  the  better  enjoy  a  world  you  are  soon  to 
come  into.  Have  therefore  no  anxiety  or  Suspicion 
about  my  Conduct,  but  be  careful  of  your  own. 
You  have  a  good  example  before  you.  Be  constant 
in  your  prayers  to  God  &  in  Endeavours  to  imitate 
it.  It  is  my  purpose,  if  it  is  agreeable  to  your  Uncle 
&  Aunt,  to  continue  you  where  you  are  till  the  Au- 

1  Dorothy  was  with  Mr.  Murray's  sister  Elizabeth  in  Boston. 


96  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tumn  1760,  unless  they  come  hither  in  the  time  & 
then  you  can  return  with  them. 

If  my  Sister  thinks  proper  all  or  part  of  your 
Mama's  Cloaths  shall  be  sent  for  you.  May  God 
direct  &  preserve  you  for  a  Comfort  to  a  father  who 
at  present  is  desolate  enough. 

Your  affectionate  J  M 

March  23.     Your  Sister  Jeany  dead 

JAMES    MURRAY   TO    MRS.    RENNET. 

Cape  Fear,  March  25'^  1758. 

Dear  Madam,  —  ...  The  Waters  continued  on 
our  low  grounds  part  of  July  &  August  with  little 
Intervals,  and  at  going  off  in  September  the  Vapours 
from  the  Swamps  made  the  Inhabitants  near  the 
low  Grounds  very  sickly.  Hence  M'*  Murray's  and 
my  Daughter  Jeany's  sickness  begun.  We  went  to 
the  Sound  near  the  Sea  in  October,  &  they  recovered 
so  fast  that  she  was  impatient  to  be  home  that  I 
might  be  disengaged  to  look  after  my  business ;  but 
no  sooner  came  we  home  than  she  relapsed  into  her 
intermittent  fevers,  attended  with  SwelHngs.  We 
went  back  to  the  Sound  in  Nov'',  but  not  with  equal 
benefit.  ...  At  length  on  the  17'^  of  February  M" 
Murray  was  deliverd  of  a  Daughter  in  the  8*^ 
Month,  and  died  on  the  19^^.  The  young  child 
lived  only  a  fortnight  after  her,  and  Jeany  died  on 
the  23^  of  this  Month.     I  am 

Your  dutiful  &  Affect®  Son 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  m  NORTH   CAROLINA     97 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   JEAN   AND   ANNE    BENNET. 

March  27""  1758. 

D"*  Sisters,  —  I  must  refer  you  for  what  con- 
cerns you  here  to  my  letter  to  your  Mamma  of  the 
25^\  The  tale  is  not  easy  to  be  repeated.  I  did 
not  imagine  any  thing  in  this  world  or  the  Loss  of 
all  of  it  would  have  sit  so  heavy  on  my  Spirits.  In 
this  Distress  the  following  home  spun  Lines  have 
been  some  hours  amusement.  I  know  I  have  no 
turn  for  what  they  aim  at,  but  when  I  meet  with 
any  thing  of  that  sort  not  unworthy  of  the  Subject 
I  have  a  very  good  Marble  Slab  on  which  to  cut 
them.  I  have  saved  some  of  your  Sister's  Hair, 
which  I  shall  send  with  my  Crop  in  the  fall  if  I 
make  any  for  Rings  to  you  both  &  Mamma. 

You  may  depend  on  my  making  a  good  Father 
to  both  my  poor  Children.  .  .  .  Dolly  I  intend 
shall  stay  with  her  Aunt  for  a  year  or  two,  &  Bettzy 
must  be  my  little  Comfort  here  if  it  pleases  God  to 
spare  her.     I  am  D''  Sisters 

Your  Affectionate  Bro"" 

February  the  19*,  1758. 
At  Point  Repose 
Humbly  Confiding 
In  the  Approbation  of  Almighty  God 

Of  a  Life  well  spent 
In  the  prudent  and  pious  Discharge 

Of  Every  Duty  incumbent 
A  Soul  departed  the  Earth 
And  for  herself  now  careth  not 
How  or  by  whom  she  be  here  remembered 

But  her  Friends 
Who, in  her  Life  were  happy,  in  her  Death  are  desolate 

Here  plant  this  in  Fears. 


98  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

But  why  Lament  ?  since  a  few  minutes  more 
"  Will  set  us  o£P  this  Transitory  Scene 
"  In  Joy  Serene  for  ever  to  remain 
With  this  Meek  Friend  whom  we  deplore. 


JAMES   MURRAY   TO   BARBARA   CLARK. 

Cape  Fear,  April  1'*,  1758. 

Sister  Clark,  —  ...  thus  it  has  pleased  God 
in  a  very  Short  time  to  make  a  wide  breach  in  my 
Family.  May  I  learn  from  it  to  be  more  resign' d 
&  to  be  faithful  &  Diligent  in  my  part  while  I  am 
left  behind.  .  .  . 

As  to  advice  about  your  moving  &  the  Children's 
Education  &  putting  them  to  business,  I  am  greatly 
at  a  Loss.  Were  it  not  for  the  uncertainty  of  the 
Times  I  should  be  glad  to  have  you  here  with 
Tommy,  since  he  inclines  to  be  a  planter.  It  will 
disappoint  my  Hopes  to  see  him  something  of  more 
importance  than  a  meer  Planter,  but  since  it  has 
pleased  God  to  disable  me  to  prosecute  that  Scheme 
as  I  intended  and  to  reduce  me  to  this  Solitary  Con- 
dition, his  being  here  will  be  a  present  ease  &  help 
to  me  without,  and  your  care  will  be  no  less  neces- 
sary within  doors,  for  I  do  not  propose  to  take  Dolly 
from  her  Aunt  at  Boston  these  two  years.  Jacky 
cannot  be  placed  better  than  with  his  Uncle  John 
to  be  brought  up  in  his  way,  but  his  Education 
must  be  finished  so  as  to  make  him  fit  for  the  busi- 
ness either  there  or  thereabout  if  you  come  away. 
I  have  no  Objections  to  James's  being  a  Merchant, 
only  let  him  be  with  one  that  is  realy  such  and  who 
is  exact  and  regular  in  Method,  and  this  on  as  easy 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA     99 

Terms  as  may  be.  I  suppose  you'll  bring  Anny 
with  you.  I  still  think  she  ought  to  be  bred  under 
her  Aunt  at  Boston,  tho'  I  have  heard  nothing  in 
approbation  of  what  I  formerly  proposed  about  that 
either  from  you  or  them.  If  it  should  succeed,  she 
must  stay  till  Dolly  comes  away,  that  we  may  not 
be  too  burdensome. 

You  are  not  to  construe  any  thing  in  this  as  a 
Desire,  and  much  less  as  peremptory  Directions,  for 
your  coming  out.  I  submit  the  whole  intirely  to 
your  own  Judgment  and  Inclination.  If  you  find 
Continuing  at  home  will  be  more  agreeable  to  you 
and  more  for  the  benefit  of  the  Children,  stay  in 
God's  name.  The  Difference  of  Expence  in  one 
way  or  the  other  will  be  inconsiderable  to  me.  I 
tope,  if  Fortune  does  not  persist  in  persecuting  me, 
still  to  be  able  to  continue  your  60£  a  year,  if  that 
will  do.  But  Times  must  Mend  considerably  before 
I  can  pay  up  the  arrears  or  enlarge  the  allowance, 
as  I  am  sensible  it  ought  to  be  according  as  your 
Children  grow  up.  And  it  is  likely  Bro""  John's 
Circumstances  are  so  narrow  &  his  own  Family  so 
large  that  he  can  give  no  Assistance,  to  which  his 
generous  Heart  would  readily  prompt  him  were  he 
able. 

Miss  Bell  M^'Neil  has  been  with  me  since  your 
Sister  died  &  takes  great  care  of  the  House  & 
Bettzy,  who  seems  at  present  to  thrive,  but  so  did 
the  rest  at  her  age.  .  .  . 


100  JAIklES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

DOROTHY  MURRAY   TO    JAMES   MURRAY. 

Boston,  June  24th,  1758. 

Honoured  Father, — I  received  your  most  affec- 
tionate letter  which  brought  the  melenchoUy  news 
of  my  Dear  Mammas  death.  It  greaves  me  very 
much  ...  I  have  an  Aunt  that  has  always  been 
like  a  mother  to  me  which  I  am  very  thankfull  for, 
notwithstanding  the  loss  of  so  Dear  and  Tender  a 
mamma  is  very  great  to  me,  but  Gods  will  must  be 
done.  I  hope  He  will  enable  me  to  submit  as  be- 
comes one  who  has  been  brought  up  as  I  have.  You 
my  Dear  Papa  meet  with  great  afflictions  ;  how  mov- 
ing your  letter.  The  death  of  my  two  Sisters  so 
soon  after  my  Mamma  must  increase  your  grief  tho' 
small  in  comparison  to  the  first,  yet  to  so  tender  and 
good  a  Father  it  is  melencholly.  You  bid  me  have 
no  anxiety  or  suspicion  about  your  conduct.  No  my 
Papa,  far  be  it  from  me  to  suspect  you  in  anything 
that  would  not  be  to  my  advantage.  I  am  very  anx- 
ious about  your  health.  I  hope  you  will  do  every- 
thing to  contribute  to  it  and  pray  keep  up  your 
spirits.  I  shall  endevour  with  the  assistance  of  my 
Aunt  to  be  qualified  as  you  direct,  and  hope  with 
your  good  advice  from  time  to  time  to  answer  your 
expectations  in  every  particular.  I  am  determined 
to  do  everything  in  my  power  that  she  thinks  will 
be  agreeable  to  you. 

May  God  Almighty  of  his  Infinite  Goodness,  Bless 
and  preserve  My  Dear  Papa  for  a  director  to  liis 
helpless  babes  —  helpless  indeed  without  your  pater- 
nal care.     I  hope  we  shall  have  gratitude  enough 


A  PIONEER  PLANTER  IN  NORTH   CAROLINA    101 

to  acknowledge  your  goodness  to  the  last  moment 
of  our  lives.     Even  after  this  mortal  state  that  we 
meet  never  to  part  and  give  thanks  that  we  had  so 
good  a  Father  and  Mother,  is  the  sincere  prayer  of 
Your  most  dutiful!  Daughter 

Dorothy  Murray. 

p^  S,  —  Give  my  love  to  my  dear  little  Sister 
Betzy.  I  have  sent  her  a  doll  and  a  few  other  things 
which  I  hope  she  will  Hke.  Please  offer  my  compli- 
ments to  Mis  McNel  and  I  am  very  glad  she  is  with 
you.  Adieu. 

To  Dr.  John  Murray,  who  had  for  some  years 
been  married  to  Mary  Boyle,  daughter  of  Valen- 
tine Boyle,  Collector  of  Customs,  and  was  settled 
ashore  ^  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  Mr.  Murray 
wrote  in  January,  1759  :  — 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  your  Numerous  family,  & 
rejoice  to  hear  how  happy  a  man  my  Sister  Makes 
you.  If  your  Roses  are  mix'd  with  thorns,  there 's 
no  other  cure  for  that  in  my  Dispensatory  than  Re- 
signation. Every  part  of  your  Letter  engages  my 
affection,  but  that  the  most  where  you  undertake  to 
be  a  parent  to  my  Girls  in  case  they  are  deprived  of 
their  solitary  surviving  one.  I  do  not  flatter  my 
self  with  living  to  take  care  of  some  of  your  Bairns ; 

1  Dr.  John  Murray  served  for  many  years  as  a  surgeon  in  His 
Majesty's  navy,  but  having  received  his  diploma  from  Edinburgh, 
retired  from  service  on  half  pay,  and  in  1751  settled  at  Wells  in 
Norfolk,  where  he  practiced  as  a  physician  until  1768,  when  be 
removed  to  Norwich.     See  Appendix. 


/ 


102  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

but  if  I  do,  it  will  be  as  much  in  my  power,  &  no 
less  in  my  Inclination,  if  they  are  willing  to  become 
Americans,  a  Country  which  in  their  day  will  in  all 
probability  be  a  very  flourishing  one,  &  the  new 
Acquisitions  toward  the  Mississippi  the  most.  Let 
me  not  by  anything  said  alarm  you  for  my  health  or 
chearfulness.  My  Health  has  been  better  of  late 
than  it  used  to  be  in  the  Winter  season,  &  if  I  have 
little  Comfort  I  have  little  care.  My  House  is  almost 
finished  &  paid  for  at  a  very  easy  rate,  considering 
the  Strength,  Beauty  &  Conveniency  of  the  build- 
ing. The  money  &  Labour  expended  on  it,  or  a 
great  part  of  them,  would  probably  have  been  sunk 
otherwise  without  such  a  desirable  Monument  of  the 
Expence.  'T  is  true  the  House  is  by  much  too  grand 
&  splendid  for  me,  considering  how  my  Family  & 
Prospects  are  reduced,  &  yet  I  do  not  repent  the 
undertaking.  If  my  Daughter  does  not  like  it  or 
has  no  use  for  it,  it  will  sell  better  in  her  day  than 
mine,  and  in  the  mean  time  a  Corner  of  it  will  afford 
me  a  warm  &  comfortable  Retirement.  I  am  not 
out  of  humour  with  the  Country  as  you  imagine.  I 
am  perswaded  I  have  my  health  better  here  than  I 
could  have  any  where  else,  and  my  Improvements  are 
amusements  to  my  taste  no  other  place  could  afford. 
As  to  the  people,  they  are  neither  better  or  worse  in 
gross  than  those  of  other  Countries  :  that  I  have  not 
been  a  greater  favourite  with  them  is  more  my  own 
fault  than  theirs." 


DR.    JOHN    :\IURRAY 


CHAPTER  III 

BITS    OF   FAMILY    HISTORY 
1749-1773 

When  James  Murray  returned  to  America  in 
1749,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  his  young  daughter 
Dorothy,  and  his  sister  Elizabeth,  their  ship,  per- 
haps owing  to  stress  of  weather,  put  in  at  Boston. 
Elizabeth  had  provided  herself  with  a  stock  of  mil- 
linery and  dry  goods,  and  had,  apparently,  contem- 
plated engaging  in  trade  in  North  Carolina.  It  may 
be  that  her  Scottish  shrewdness  recognized  the 
superior  advantages  which  Boston  offered  for  her 
undertaking.  Be  this  as  it  may,  she  remained  in 
the  New  England  town,  and,  aided  by  her  brother's 
advice  and  credit  with  the  London  merchants, 
launched  forth  upon  a  modest  but  successful  busi- 
ness career.  Boston  thus  became  a  second  home 
for  the  Murrays  in  America. 

Her  business  affairs,  as  a  rule,  ran  smoothly.  One 
exception  she  notes  in  1755  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  got  myself  a  little  involved  at  present 
but  am  in  hopes  of  getting  Clear  of  it  soon.  There 
was  one  Edmund  Quincy  and  sons,  very  considerable 
merchants  and  reckoned  to  be  worth  one  hundred 
thousand  pound,  took  it  into  their  heads  to  draw 


104  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

bills,  and  sold  a  number  of  them  to  very  cautious 
people  in  this  town.  Then  they  were  bound  for 
Fletcher  to  William  Vassall  for  fifteen  hundred 
pound  sterling.  Fletcher  ran  away,  then  Vassall 
demanded  the  money  of  them,  so  they  shut  up  be- 
fore the  bills  they  had  drawn  came  back.  I  had 
L.  110  came  about  three  weeks  ago,  and  I  put  it  into 
a  Lawyer's  hands  directly,  who  tells  me  I  am  secure. 
I  had  another  of  L.  45  of  them  that  is  not  come 
yet ;  so  soon  as  it  does  I  believe  I  shall  have  the 
money  for  both.  I  am  determined  for  the  future 
to  buy  no  bills  but  from  Col.  Royall  who  promises 
to  supply  me." 

Elizabeth's  first  abode  in  Boston  was  on  King 
Street,  with  Mrs.  Barker,  a  motherly  woman  whose 
sisters  and  daughters  became  valued  friends  of  the 
Murray  family.  Near  by,  also  on  King  Street,  were 
the  Mackays,  eventually  to  be  near  connections ; 
and  in  time  other  acquaintances  added  themselves 
to  these.  So  attractive,  indeed,  were  Elizabeth's 
surroundings  that  Mrs.  Murray,  who,  after  her  hus- 
band's departure  for  Cape  Fear,  remained  for  a  while 
in  what  he  called  "that  poor  healthy  place,  New 
England,"  was  unwilling  to  depart  for  North  Caro- 
lina even  after  the  birth  of  her  second  child,  the 
event  which  had  originally  detained  her.  Appar- 
ently she  was  really  loath  to  go  to  the  warmer 
climate,  which  was  one  day  to  cost  her  her  life. 
When  she  did  at  last  rejoin  her  husband,  she  gladly 
sent  Dorothy  back  to  Elizabeth,  realizing  well  the 
advantages  which  the  northern  town  could   give. 


BITS  OF  FA:^^LY  HISTORY  105 

As  with  one  exception  the  other  children  born  to 
James  Murray  sickened  and  died  in  the  south,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  Dorothy  Murray  owed  her 
preservation  to  her  aunt's  devotion  and  to  New 
England  air. 

In  1755  EHzabeth  married  Thomas  Campbell,  a 
Scotch  merchant  and  trader,  whose  enterprises  car- 
ried him  back  and  forth  between  Boston  and  Cape 
Fear.  James  wrote  concerning  the  event  to  Dr. 
John  Murray,  settled  at  Wells  :  — 

"  Dolly's  being  with  her  Aunt  at  Boston  will  cer- 
tainly be  no  News  to  you,  nor  Betzy's  Marriage  to 
Tho'  Campbell,*  son  of  James  Campbell,  whom  you 
may  remember  a  housekeeper  in  Wilmington.  Betzy 
askd  my  Approbation  of  this  Match  in  due  form, 
which  I  gave,  not  doubting  of  her  having  accepted 
of  the  best  that  offer' d  &  considering  she  had  not 
much  time  to  wait  for  further  Choice.^  Beside  my 
complaisance  to  her,  to  whom  I  have  never  had  Oc- 
casion to  refuse  any  thing,  the  young  Man's  Sobri- 
ety, Industry  &  Integrity  were  Recommendations 
not  always  to  be  met  with  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
He  is  coming  hither  in  a  Vessel  he  charters  to  load 
with  tar.  Having  been  bred  to  the  Sea,  he  has  had 
the  command  of  several  small  vessels  from  this  Port. 
For  further  particulars  I  must  refer  you  to  Time  & 
the  new  Couple." 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1756,  another  daughter 

^  In  another  letter  Mr.  Murray  describes  him  as  "  nephew  to  one 
of  the  Professors  at  St.  Andrews." 

2  Mr.  Murray  had  not  the  gift  of  second  sight  to  foresee  his  sis- 
ter's matrimonial  future. 


106  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

was  born  in  Wilmington  or  at  Point  Repose.  This 
was  EKzabeth^  the  only  child  besides  Dorothy  who 
was  destined  to  survive.  Dorothy  was  by  this  time 
with  Mrs.  Campbell  in  Boston  and  already  deep  in 
the  affections  of  her  aunt,  who  never  possessed  a 
child  of  her  own  on  whom  to  expend  the  wealth  of 
her  warm  heart. 

ELIZABETH   MUREAY   TO    JAMES   MURRAY. 

Boston,  May  12,  1756. 

...  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  honour  you  do 
me  in  naming  your  daughter  Elizabeth.  I  take  it 
wholly  to  myself,  notwithstanding  I  do  not  imagine 
I  shall  like  her  half  so  well  as  my  Doll,  who  is  well 
and  fond  of  writing  and  drawing,  as  little  sewing  as 
you  please.  I  shall  get  a  book  according  to  your 
desire  and  mind  her  reading.  She  hopes  you  or  my 
sister  will  write  to  her.  .  .  . 

General  Winslow  set  out  yesterday  with  eight 
thousand  men  for  Crown  Point.  He  says  he  never 
will  return  unless  he  succeeds.  His  courage  and 
good  conduct  induces  every  one  to  believe  he  will. 
I  had  a  letter  from  Brother  John  about  ten  days 
ago.  All  friends  are  well.  I  neglected  writing  to 
them  after  the  earthquake  which  I  am  sorry  for  as 
they  seem  to  be  uneasy  about  me. 

The  business  which  Elizabeth  Campbell  had  built 
up  for  herself  was  not  abandoned  upon  her  marriage. 
Aided  now  by  the  experience  of  her  husband,  she 
still  continued  to  receive  goods  from  London  and  to 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  107 

sell  them  at  her  Boston  store.  This,  as  it  proved, 
was  a  prudent  course,  for  Mr.  Campbell's  life  was 
short.  In  a  very  few  years  he  died,  leaving  her  not, 
indeed,  without  means  of  support,  but  glad  of  the 
additional  income  furnished  by  her  own  exertions. 
She  had,  however,  health,  comparative  youth,  and 
friends.  Moreover,  her  large  heart  and  sunny  tem- 
per gave  her  a  winning  personality.  She  was,  as  her 
brother  said,  "  vastly  beloved  for  her  frankness  and 
continual  endeavors  to  do  good  offices." 

A  comfortable  prosperous  figure  in  Boston  at  that 
time  was  Mr.  James  Smith,  sugar  baker,  whose  re- 
finery had  been  in  working  since  1729  or  before,  — 
Elizabeth  Murray's  whole  lifetime,  practically, — 
and  who  had  amassed  wealth  as  well  as  years.  His 
house  on  Queen  Street,  —  Court  Street  now,  —  was 
central  in  position,  surrounded  by  other  residences 
of  its  kind,  yet  conveniently  near  the  sugar  house, 
which  stood  on  Brattle  Street,  between  the  old  church 
and  what  was  known  as  Wing's  Lane.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  not  far  from  King's  Chapel.  As  one  of 
the  churchwardens  of  King's  Chapel  and  a  generous 
contributor  to  its  needs,  Mr.  Smith  stood  high  in  the 
esteem  of  his  fellow-townsmen,  and  the  few  allusions 
to  him  in  the  records  and  traditions  of  his  day  in- 
dicate that  he  was  no  less  a  genial  friend  than  an 
open-handed  citizen. 

It  was  he  who  imported  the  old  Dutch  elms  once 
so  prized  in  Boston.  The  story  goes  that  Mr.  Smith, 
being  in  London,  was  struck  by  the  beauty  of  the 
elms  in  Brompton  Park,  and  procuring  some  young 


108  JAIklES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

trees  of  the  same  kind  had  them  planted  in  his 
nursery  on  his  beautiful  farm,  Brush  Hill,  in  Milton. 
The  fame  of  these  trees  spreading,  one  of  his  friends, 
Mr.  Gilbert  Deblois,  asked  for  some,  saying  that  he 
would  in  return  name  his  new-born  son  for  Mr. 
Smith.  The  bargain  was  struck,  and  James  Smith 
Deblois,  baptized  May  16,  1769,  bore  witness  to  its 
fulfillment.  A  second  friend.  Judge  Auchmuty, 
made  Mr.  Smith  a  similar  offer,  and  received  a  sup- 
ply of  the  trees.  The  Dutch  elms  standing  in  front 
of  the  Unitarian  meeting-house  at  Milton,  planted 
there  at  a  later  date  by  Mr.  Murray's  son-in-law, 
Edward  Hutchinson  Robbins,  were  of  the  Brush 
Hill  stock,  and  so  were  many  others  now  vanished  ; 
but  those  received  by  Mr.  Gilbert  Deblois  became 
the  most  celebrated.  These  were  set  out  in  front  of 
the  Granary,  just  opposite  Mr.  Deblois's  house  in 
Tremont  street.^  As  Addino  Paddock's  shop  win- 
dow looked  out  upon  them,  Mr.  Deblois  enjoined 
Mr.  Paddock  to  have  an  eye  to  their  safety ;  and 
as  Mr.  Paddock  twice  had  occasion  to  offer  rewards 
for  the  discovery  of  offenders  who  had  injured  the 
trees  his  name  came  to  be  associated  with  them,  and 
they  to  be  known  as  the  Paddock  Elms.  Boston 
made  a  sturdy  fight  for  them  before  they  fell  a  prey 
to  advancing  travel  and  traffic. 

What  preHminary  acquaintance  Mr.  Smith  had 
with  Mrs.  Campbell  the  letters  do  not  say,  but  in 
1760  they  were  married,  and  for  the  rest  of  his  life 
they  lived  happily  together.     "  I  can  assure  you," 

*  Mr.  Deblois  lived  on  the  site  of  Horticultural  Hall. 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  109 

James  Murray  wrote  to  John  in  1761,  "  they  both 
enjoy  a  happiness  which  is  rarely  met  with  in  a 
match  of  such  disparity."  Her  brother  rejoiced  in 
this  marriage,  which  he  declared  placed  her  "  in  the 
best  circumstances  of  any  of  her  sex  in  the  town." 
Prosperity  for  one  member  of  the  family  meant  help 
for  all.  Both  James  and  Elizabeth  had  a  thorough 
regard  for  money,  but  they  always  wanted  it  that 
they  might  use  it  for  others. 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   JOHN   MURRAY   OF   PHILIPHAUGH. 

Boston,  Aug.  6,  1760. 

...  I  left  [Cape  Fear]  the  end  of  June  to  visit 
my  Daughter  and  new  married  Sister  here.  This 
last  was  married  in  March  to  Mr.  James  Smith, 
Sugar  baker  in  this  town,  an  agreeable  good  natured 
Gentleman  of  Seventy,  a  £.30,000  man,  ten  thou- 
sand Ster.  of  which  he  has  settled  on  Bettzy,  beside 
her  own  Fortune  and  the  Life  Rent  of  a  valuable 
farm.  This  sets  her  above  the  Cares  of  the  World 
and,  what  is  vastly  preferable,  gives  her  those  oppor- 
tunities of  doing  good  in  which  Philiphaugh  and 
many  of  his  Relations  delight. 

At  Mr.  Smith's  and  her  Request  I  am  to  entreat 
the  favor  of  you  to  provide  him  with  a  Sober  young 
Man  for  a  Gardner  who  can  perform  also  the  Busi- 
ness of  a  Coachman  and  groom.  He  will  have  a 
negro  man  under  him,  whom  he  must  instruct  in 
those  Articles.  He  must  be  under  Indenture  or 
Contract  for  three  years.  You  may  draw  for  his 
passage  on  Messrs  Bridgen  and  Waller,  Merchants 


110  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

in  London,  and  may  agree  that  there  shall  be  paid 
to  him  in  gold  or  silver  fifteen  pounds  Sterling  for 
the  first  year  and  twenty  pounds  Sterling  for  the 
two  succeeding  years  and  further  that  he  shall  be 
free  to  return  if  he  chuses  at  the  expiration  of  one 
year  and  his  passage  home  shall  be  jDaid  by  Mr. 
Smith,  but  he  shall  not  be  at  liberty  to  leave  his 
Master  or  Mistress  to  go  any  where  else  in  America. 
He  shall  be  provided  in  sufficient  Diet,  Lodging, 
and  washing,  and  shall  have  a  compleat  Suit  of 
Livery  to  himself  for  occasions.  He  ought  to  be 
here  before  March,  Mr.  Smith's  Gardner  being  then 
to  leave  him.  I  would  not  have  presumed  to  give 
you  the  trouble  of  this  Commission  were  I  not  per- 
suaded that  it  is  giving  you  the  Opportunity  of 
obliging  some  deserving  Young  Man  with  a  very 
good  place  in  a  healthy,  plentiful  Country  under  an 
Indulgent  Master  and  Mistress. 

Her  aunt's  increased  ease  was  shared  by  Dorothy. 
Indeed,  her  father  could  not  quite  approve  of  the 
"  softness  "  of  his  daughter's  education.  He  wrote 
in  August,  1760,  to  Anne  and  Jean  Bennet :  — 

"  Dolly,  now  as  tall  as  her  Aunt  here,  is  employed 
to  copy  this  to  show  you  her  progress  in  writing. 
The  other  Branches  of  her  Education  have  not  been 
neglected,  but  you  would  not  be  pleased  to  see  the 
indolent  way  in  which  she  and  the  young  Ladies  of 
this  place  generally  live.  They  do  not  get  up  even 
in  this  fine  Season  till  8  or  9  o'clock.  Breakfast  is 
over  at  ten,  a  little  reading  or  work  until  12,  dress 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  111 

for  dinner  till  2,  after  noon  in  making  or  receiving 
Visits  or  going  about  the  Shops.  Tea,  Supper,  and 
chat  closes  the  Day  and  their  Eyes  about  11.  I 
believe  I  do  them  great  Justice  in  allowing  that 
they  employ  to  some  good  purpose  two  hours  of  the 
twenty  four.  If  it  is  otherwise  let  your  Niece  set 
you  right,  for  she  tells  me  that  she  is  to  write  by 
this  Vessel." ' 

His  opinion  of  New  England  was  changed. 
"  You  cannot  well  imagine,"  he  said,  in  this  same 
letter,  "  what  a  Land  of  health,  plenty  and  content- 
ment this  is  among  all  ranks,  vastly  improved  within 
these  ten  years.  The  war  on  this  Continent  has 
been  equally  a  blessing  to  the  English  Subjects  and 
a  Calamity  to  the  French,  especially  in  the  Northern 
Colonies,  for  we  have  got  nothing  by  it  in  CaroHna. 
I  am  almost  tempted  to  wish  that  instead  of  broiHng 
and  squabling  about  public  affairs  in  Carolina  I 
had  been  set  down  quietly  here,  but  as  it  has  been 
otherwise  determined  by  the  Supreme  over-ruler  of 
all  Events,  I  am  satisfied.  My  Motto  may  be  now 
Httle  Comfort  little  Care.  I  formerly  enjoyed  more 
of  the  pleasureable  part  of  life,  but  never  more 
tranquility.  The  greatest  anxiety  I  have  had  of 
late  was  to  leave  my  Estate  among  those  to  whom  it 
belongs  clear  of  any  Incumbrances." 

Of  his  younger  daughter  he  gives  her  aunts  a 
good  account :  — 

"  Your  niece  Bettzy  continues  to  be  a  very  thriv- 
ing hopeful  child,  growing  more  and  more  Hke  her 

1  See  Appendix. 


112  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Mamma  every  day.  If  I  find  fortune  and  Eesolu- 
tion  enough,  I  propose  to  send  her  in  two  or  three 
years  hence  under  your  care.  I  think  it  but  a  piece 
of  Justice  to  commit  to  you  that  lively  Remembrance 
of  your  Dear  Sister,  and  have  nothing  to  dread  but 
for  you,  the  care  and  anxiety  she  will  give." 

Betsy  was  not,  however,  sent  to  Scotland.  Mrs. 
Smith  had  for  some  time  wished  to  take  her  name- 
sake under  her  own  care,  and  in  1761  the  child 
came  to  her  house,  to  be  thenceforth  a  close  and  dear 
companion.  At  the  same  time  Mrs.  Clark's  children, 
particularly  John  and  Annie,  were  anxiously  con- 
sidered. "  As  to  our  nephew  Jacky  Clark,"  Mr. 
Murray  wrote  from  Boston  in  July,  1761,  to  his  bro- 
ther John,  "...  there  is  the  more  reason  to  be 
careful  of  his  education  as  the  other  two  boys  have 
been  much  neglected  by  bad  Masters.  Tommy, 
however,  is  hke  to  prove  a  good  planter  and  has 
from  Nature  the  advantage  of  all  his  father's  agree- 
able modest  behavior.  .  .  .  Anny,  who  is  come 
hither  with  my  little  daughter  and  me,  is  the  best 
English  reader  of  the  three,  is  very  sensible,  good 
tempered,  and  agreeable.  ...  I  arrived  here  .  .  . 
with  Intention  to  spend  the  hot  months  in  this  place 
of  health,  plenty,  and  good  Company.  I  intend  to 
carry  Dolly  with  me  to  the  Southward  in  Septr, 
and  to  leave  Anny  Clark  and  Bettzy  with  their  Aunt 
tiU  our  Return  next  Summer." 

Mrs.  Mackay,  previously  spoken  of  as  living  on 
King  Street,  had  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Gordon  and 
Mrs.  Thompson,  the  latter  the  wife  of  Dr.  Thomp- 


BITS  OF  FA]VnLY  HISTORY  113 

son  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  who  was  one  of  Mr.  Mur- 
ray's friends.  Dr.  Thompson  died,  and  Mr.  Murray, 
who  had  done  many  kind  offices  for  them  both, 
finally,  at  Mrs.  Mackay's  home  in  Boston,  on  the 
30th  of  November,  1761,  married  Mrs.  Thompson, 
a  step  which  proved  to  be  a  fortunate  one  for  Mr. 
Murray's  daughters  as  well  as  for  the  two  most  con- 
cerned. 

To  Dorothy,  who,  meanwhile,  had  been  visiting 
friends  in  New  York,  her  father  sent  a  few  affec- 
tionate Hues  after  the  ceremony. 

JAMES    MURRAY   TO    DOROTHY    MURRAY. 

Boston,  November  30th,  1761. 

Dear  Dolly,  —  Your  Aunt  has  received  your 
letter  of  the  22d  from  York,  and  with  me  heartily 
congratulates  you  on  your  new  Relation,  which  we 
hope  will  in  a  great  measure  make  up  for  the  late 
loss  you  have  sustained. 

We  are  to  sleep  this  night  at  Brush-hill,  and  from 
thence  along  to-morrow  as  fast  as  we  can.  The 
Ceremony  has  been  over  about  an  hour  very  pri- 
vately, and  we  eat  our  St.  Andrews  dinner  with 
Mrs.  Mackay.  Remember  me  to  Mr.  Rutherford, 
the  Ladies,  and  Mr.  Barker  if  he  is  still  with  you. 
Your  Aunt  and  Anny  are  so  hurried  they  have  no 
time  to  write.  In  this  instance  and  in  every  one  of 
my  life  I  hope  to  prove.  Dear  Dolly, 

Your  truly  affectionate  Father. 

By  April,  1762,  schemes  for   Mr.    Murray's  re- 


114  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

moval  to  Boston  had  taken  deep  hold  on  Mrs. 
Smith's  mind.  Mr.  Smith  was  withdrawing  from 
the  sugar  business ;  she  wished  Mr.  Murray  to  take 
it  up.  Mr.  Murray,  however,  while  willingly  assent- 
ing to  her  plans,  was  in  no  haste  to  be  off  from  his 
plantation,  which  he  really  loved.  He  was,  more- 
over, soon  afterward  "  reinstated."  "  I  hope  it  will 
not  prevent  his  coming  here,"  wrote  Mrs.  Smith  to 
Dorothy.  "  If  it  does,  it  will  be  grief  to  one  whose 
heart  is  bound  up  in  him  and  his."  But  at  last  the 
break  was  made.  In  1765  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray 
removed  to  Boston,  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  their 
sister. 

Mr.  Murray  already  had  warm  friends  in  Boston 
and  felt  himself  in  congenial  surroundings.  He 
occupied  Mr.  Smith's  house  on  the  corner  of  Queen 
Street,  the  Smiths  reserving  for  themselves  a  certain 
portion  of  it,  though  they  resided  at  Brush  Hill. 
One  of  his  friends  was  the  Rev.  John  Hooper,  rec- 
tor of  Trinity  Church.  Mr.  Hooper's  son,  William, 
had  studied  law  in  Boston,  under  James  Otis,  and 
had  begun  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Wilming- 
ton before  Mr.  Murray  left  North  Carolina.  The 
young  lawyer,  as  time  went  on,  paid  his  addresses 
to  Annie  Clark,  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
growing  up  under  Mrs.  Smith's  care.  For  some 
time  his  suit  did  not  prosper.  The  Murrays,  con- 
servatively loyal  to  government,  were  made  cau- 
tious by  the  patriotic  tendencies  of  James  Otis's 
pupil.  Mr.  Murray  did  not  fail  to  give  him  candid 
advice. 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  115 

JAMES  MUKRAY   TO   WILLIAM   HOOPER. 

Boston,  July  6th,  1765. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  am  now  embracing  the  first  oppor- 
tunity of  acknowledging  tlie  Kec'  of  yours  of  the 
7th  May,  a  very  agreeable  Letter  so  far  as  you  in- 
sinuate that  some  of  the  good  folks  of  our  Province 
have  been  pleased  to  think  favorably  of  my  Inten- 
tions, which  are  all  or  almost  all  I  deserve  any 
Credit  for.  After  a  Service  of  near  thirty  years  I 
cannot  say  I  have  been  able  to  do  them  any  Essen- 
tial Service,  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  my  trusting 
too  much  to  the  Rectitude  of  my  Intentions  without 
the  Vehicle  of  address  necessary  to  bring  them  into 
Action  in  a  Government  such  as  ours.  Agreeable 
is  your  letter  likewise,  as  it  informs  me  of  your  Close 
Application  to  Study  and  Business,  in  which  I  was 
in  great  hopes  of  your  Proficiency  and  success  untiU 
I  saw  the  Stamp  Act,  which  in  the  Execution  will 
cast  such  a  damp  upon  the  Htigious  Spirits  of  your 
province  by  draining  their  pockets  as  will  greatly 
abridge  the  practice  of  Law  there  and  indeed 
throughout  America,  especially  in  the  poorer  pro- 
vinces, and  leave  bread  only  for  a  few  of  the  pro- 
fession. Whether  you  will  be  of  the  number  is 
doubted,  as  some  conjecture  you  will  be  scared  by 
sickness  or  impelled  by  passion  to  come  off,  and 
leave  your  Harvest  in  the  Field.  As  to  your  love 
affair  which  you  hint  at  I  refer  you  to  your  father, 
who  has  read  me  part  of  his  letter  to  you  on  the 
subject  in  a  manner  perfectly  agreeable  to  my  own 
sentiments. 


116  JAJMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

I  must  own  I  regret  your  having  had,  through 
my  means,  fuel  for  your  flame  so  near  you  on  your 
own  account,  but  much  more  for  the  other  —  for  the 
parties  in  that  affair  treat  on  very  unequal  terms. 
The  longer  he  waits  the  fitter  he  may  be  in  every  re- 
spect for  matrimony  —  not  so  with  the  other,  and  to 
make  it  up  directly  would  be  certain  ruin  to  both,  .  .  . 

I  must  refer  you  to  other  Letters  for  particulars 
of  your  Friends  here.  I  shall  only  hint  a  few. 
Miller  at  Marleborough  dying  by  inches  and  look- 
ing death  in  the  face  with  the  Serenity  of  a  Soc- 
rates. Mr.  Smith  has  had  an  ill  turn  lately,  but 
recruits  fast;  he  is  come  to  town  to  froHc.  Your 
Brother  John  is  sick,  George  a  Lad  of  great  hopes. 
Tommy  idle  because  he  was  too  high  spirited  to  do 
some  servile  Jobs  at  Amorys.  The  People  in  high 
dudgeon  here  upon  account  of  the  late  Acts,  but 
not  so  outrao^eous  as  some  of  the  Southern  Colonies. 
Potash  become  a  very  valuable  export.  This  pro- 
vince, they  say  will  ship  a  thousand  tons  this  year, 
value  £30  Sterling  a  ton  and  more. 

My  Wife,  Daughter  and  Niece  present  their  com- 
pliments  to  you  and  will   rejoice  to  hear  of  your 
health  and  success  as  well  as. 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  affectionate 
Humble  Servant. 

At  the  death,  in  1767,  of  the  Kev.  John  Hooper, 
and  in  obedience  to  his  wishes,  Mr.  Murray  assumed 
a  parental  care  of  the  family,  which  consisted  of 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  117 

Mrs.  Hooper  and  the  sons  spoken  of  in  the  preced- 
ing letter.  William  Hooper  then  married  Annie 
Clark,  though  still  under  the  disapproval  of  her  rel- 
atives. Mr.  Murray  even  went  so  far  as  to  say : 
"This  match  Anny  made  for  herself  without  her 
brother's  approbation.  This  young  man  is  an  attor- 
ney at  law  in  North  Carolina  whither  he  went  under 
my  patronage  and  where  he  may  do  well  if  he  has 
prudence,  which  is  doubted."  That  prudence 
which  was  doubted  was  the  wisdom  to  keep  on  the 
King's  side.  In  view  of  the  success  of  the  man 
and  of  the  marriage  the  comment  has  a  piquant  in- 
terest. 

Dorothy  also  had,  by  this  time,  grown  to  matu- 
rity. She  was  a  hvely  fascinating  young  creatui*e, 
a  great  favorite  with  all  who  knew  her,  especially, 
say  the  family  traditions,  with  one  of  her  cousins. 
Kather  against  the  protests  of  her  friends,  who 
could  not  bear  the  thought  of  her  going  so  far  away 
from  them,  she  accepted  the  hand  of  the  Kev.  John 
Forbes,  a  clergyman  then  settled  at  St.  Augustine, 
and  their  marriage  followed  in  1769. 

It  was  with  heavy  hearts  that  Dorothy  Forbes's 
father  and  aunt  saw  her  set  off  for  Florida.  Mrs. 
Smith  was,  in  fact,  made  almost  ill  by  the  loss  of  the 
niece  who  was  so  dear  to  her. 

"  Words  cannot  express  nor  pen  write  what  I 
have  suffered  and  am  hke  to  suffer  by  parting  with 
you,"  says  her  letter  of  June  22,  1769.  "  I  dwell 
much  on  a  promise  Mr.  Forbes  made  me.  It  was 
that  he  would   make  a  visit  here  soon.     It  often 


118  JAJVIES  MUERAY,   LOYALIST 

rouses  my  drooping  spirits  and  makes  me  wish  to 
live  to  see  you  happy  in  each  other.  Whenever  I 
have  thought  of  your  settHng  in  the  world,  it  has 
been  the  height  of  my  ambition  to  have  you  near 
me.     It  is  ordered  otherwise  and  I  must  submit." 

As  a  means  of  distraction  she  paid  a  visit  to  her 
friend  Mrs.  Barnes  ^  in  Marlborough,  a  correspond- 
ent whose  Hvely  pen  must  be  allowed  to  contribute 
its  share  to  our  knowledge  of  the  family  doings. 
Her  letter,  which  gives  a  picture  of  the  mode  of 
visiting  and  of  traveling  at  that  time,  when  the 
chariot  or  single  horse  chaise  or  riding  double  were 
the  means  of  conveyance  from  one  country  house  to 
another,  is  as  follows  ;  — 

MRS.  BARNES  TO  DOROTHY  FORBES. 

Marlborough,  June  11*^,  1769.  ' 
...  I  have  rambled  down  one  side  of  my  Paper 
without  thinking  what  Subject  to  enter  upon.  I 
know  of  none  that  will  be  more  agreeable  to  you 
then  an  account  of  your  Aunt  &  her  family.  I  am 
very  well  quahfied  for  the  undertakuig,  haveing  had 
the  happiness  to  injoy  her  Company  for  this  Month 
past.  One  liaK  of  the  time  we  spent  at  Brush  Hill 
and  the  other  at  Marlborough.  Her  Health  (She 
says)  is  better  then  when  you  left  her.  You  know 
she  never  complains,  but  if  one  may  judge  by  her 
countenance  She  is  far  from  being  well.  Her 
jurney  to  Marlborough  was  with  a  Veiw  to  her 
Health,  but  She  suffer' d  so  much  fetegue  both  in 

^  Wife  of  Henry  Barnes. 


DOROTHY    MURRAY 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  119 

coming  &  going  that  I  fear  she  received  but  little 
Benifit.  There  is  a  strange  fatality  attends  all  her 
undertakings.  As  a  profe  of  it  I  will  endeavor  to 
give  you  some  account  of  our  jurney.  We  sat  out 
from  M'  Inman's  early  in  the  Morning,  M"^  &  M" 
Smith  in  the  Chariot  which  she  had  converted  into 
a  Post  Chaise,  Miss  Murray  &  my  SeK  in  our  Post 
Chaise,  Tom  &  Bill  for  attendents,  accompanied  by 
M''  Spence  &  his  Wife.  We  all  arrived  in  very 
good  season  to  Dinner  at  Baldwins,  but  it  is  out  of 
my  Power  to  give  you  any  description  of  the  Diffi- 
cultys  we  underwent  in  the  last  fifteen  Miles.  I 
shall  only  say  that  some  of  us  arrived  at  10  o'clock, 
some  at  12  and  the  Last  (which  you  may  be  sure 
was  your  Aunt)  came  in  at  Two  in  the  Morning. 
However,  we  none  of  us  received  any  injury  from 
the  jurney,  and  after  M''  Spence  &  his  Wife  left  us, 
Your  Aunt  &  I  injoy'd  a  Week  together  with  Httle 
or  no  interuption,  at  the  end  of  which  we  were 
favor'd  with  a  Visit  from  the  two  M"  Beltchers, 
who  staid  with  us  a  Week.  I  beleive  your  Aunt 
would  not  have  left  us  so  soon  if  we  could  have 
made  M'  Smith  Eassy,  but  that  was  impossible.  I 
could  not  help  joining  in  Miss  Cumingses  Prayer 
and  heartily  wish'd  the  good  Man  in  Heaven,  for 
thither  he  is  bound,  tho  I  think  he  makes  but  a  Slow 
progress  on  his  jurney.  To  close  the  whole  of  this 
account,  when  the  Day  was  fix'd  for  their  departure 
your  Aunt  went  off  in  the  Morning  Mounted  upon 
a  Single  Horse,  with  out  taking  leave  of  any  Body, 
and  rode   Twenty  Mile  fasting  without   once   dis- 


120  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

mounting.  They  reach'd  Home  the  same  night, 
and  Your  Aunt  writes  me  word  that  she  received 
no  manner  of  inconvenency  from  Her  jurney,  but  is 
in  very  good  Health  &  Spirits. 

Mr.  Smith's  long  life,  cheered  to  the  last  by  his 
wife's  affectionate  care,  came  to  an  end  on  the  4:th  of 
August,  1769.^  Much  worn  by  protracted  nursing, 
Mrs.  Smith,  taking  Elizabeth  with  her,  now  went 
to  Scotland  for  change  of  scene.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  Brush  Hill  passed  into  Murray  hands,  for,  be- 
fore leaving  home,  Mrs.  Smith  made  over  to  her  bro- 
ther James,  in  trust  for  Dorothy  and  Elizabeth,  the 
Milton  farm.  Mr.  Murray,  with  much  content,  estab- 
lished himself  there,  hoping  to  "  run  off  the  dregs  of 
his  days  "  in  peace.  Of  the  farm  he  had  some  years 
before  given  his  brother  a  graphic  description.  It 
had,  he  said,  "  a  good  house,  well  furnished,  good 
Gardens  and  Orchards,  Meadows  and  pasturage  in 
300  acres."  Then,  continuing,  he  added,  "  A  rivu- 
let washes  it,  and  by  several  windings  loses  itself 
between  two  bushy  hills  before  it  runs  into  the 
great  bay.  Of  this  bay,  often  covered  with  sails, 
and  of  the  Light  house  there  is  a  fair  prospect  from 
the  house,  which  stands  on  an  eminence  and  over- 
looks also  a  pleasant  Country  round.  It  is  in  short 
one  of  the  pleasantest  and  most  convenient  seats  I 
see  in  the  Country." 

^  "  He  was  '  buried  from  his  own  house  at  ye  corner  of  Queen  St.,* 
says  an  interleaved  almanac  of  that  year."  Drake's  Hist,  of  Bost., 
p.  767. 


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BITS  OF  FAIVIILY  HISTORY  121 

Mrs.  Murray  was  frequently  at  the  farm,  but  she 
loved  the  city.  "  Mrs.  Murray  continues  to  move  in 
the  gay  world/'  wrote  one  of  her  acquaintances, 
"  with  the  same  spirits  as  if  she  was  but  fiveteen, 
and  is  distressed  to  death  for  fear  there  should  be 
no  assembly  this  winter.  She  roals  in  her  chariot, 
for  you  know  she's  mistress  of  one,  and  makes  visits 
to  all  the  great  folks." 

A  correspondence  between  Mrs.  Barnes  and  Mrs. 
Smith  carries  on  our  story. 

MRS.   BARNES  TO   ELIZABETH   SMITH. 

Oct.  14,  1769. 

...  It  is  a  Mellencholy  reflection  that  before 
this  reaches  you  we  should  be  separated  above  three 
Thousand  miles  and  that  while  I  am  now  writing 
you  are  tossing  upon  the  merciless  Ocean,  sick  and 
not  able  to  hold  up  your  head  .  .  .  But  I  must 
once  more  return  to  myself  and  to  the  Fatal  Hour 
that  parted  us.  Did  you  see  nothing  in  my  counte- 
nance that  discovered  my  inward  anguish,  or  have  I 
(by  coppeing  your  example)  obtained  some  degree  of 
Fortitude  ?  My  Passion  struggled  for  a  Vent,  tho 
I  only  showed  the  concern  of  a  common  acquaint- 
ance. 'T  is  true  I  did  not  Dare  to  Approach  you 
for  fear  my  emotions  should  burst  out  into  some 
indecencys,  and  yet  notwithstanding  my  caution  it 
was  reported  that  I  took  you  in  my  arms  and 
screem'd  violently.  You  know  whence  this  mis- 
take proceeded  ;  the  Lady  and  I  were  both  dressed 
in  Black,  and,  being  pretty  much  of  a  size,  the 


122  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

standers  by  were  deceived.  I  must  confess  her  be- 
havior shocked  me,  nor  had  I  the  least  inclination 
to  follow  her  example,  tho  I  earnestly  wished  for  a 
Parting  Kiss  had  the  time  and  place  been  proper. 
.  .  .  Since  I  have  mentioned  Mr.  Rowe  give  me 
leave  to  ask  you  if  you  was  not  extremely  Pleased 
with  his  Polite  behaviour  upon  the  Warfe?  .  .  . 
And  pray  did  you  observe  another  gentleman  who 
look'd  as  if  he  would  have  given  his  eyes  for  a 
tender  farewell  ?  But  to  Mr.  Rowe  you  gave  your 
hand,  and  to  Mrs.  Murray  your  lips,  while  we  at 
Humble  distance  stood  motionless  with  Wonder  and 
surprise. 

Nov.  20th,  1769. 
Last  Thursday,  which  was  Thanksgiving  Day,  a 
Ball  was  given  by  Mrs.  Murray  at  Brush  Hill  to  a 
number  of  gentlemen  and  Ladys  from  Boston.  Miss 
E.  Cumings  was  one  of  the  Party.  Their  goods  and 
ours  are  arrived  in  very  good  order,  which  has 
caused  a  Comity  from  the  Well  Disposed  to  wait 
upon  them  and  write  to  Mr.  Barnes  with  a  desire 
that  the  goods  may  be  Stored  till  further  orders. 
.  .  .  Those  daring  Sons  of  Liberty  are  now  at  the 
tip-top  of  their  Power  and  .  .  .  even  to  Speak  dis- 
respectfully of  the  Well  Disposed  is  a  Crime  equal 
to  high  Treason.  .  .  .  When  the  deluded  multitude 
finds  they  have  been  led  astray  by  false  maxims  they 
may  Possibly  turn  upon  them  with  their  own  wep- 
ons.  .  .  .  This  is  my  Private  opinion,  but  how  I 
came  to  give  it  is  a  Mistry,  for  PoHticks  is  a  puddle 
I  never  choose  to  dabble  in. 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  123 

Dec.  23, 1769. 
Oh  how  I  long  to  have  one  political  Laugh  with 
you!  Would  you  not  be  diverted  to  see  Squire 
Barnes  and  the  two  little  Miss  Cumingses  Posted 
together  in  a  News  Paper  as  Enimys  to  their  coun- 
try ?  Do,  Bless  you,  send  us  a  Httle  Dash  o£  Poli- 
ticks from  tother  side  the  water  that  we  may  see 
something  that  has  the  appearance  of  Truth,  for  our 
Well  Disposed  import  such  a  vast  quantity  of  Ues 
with  their  other  Articles  that  they  begin  to  find  a 
dif&culty  in  vending  them. 

Feby  the  9,  1770. 

...  I  was  yesterday  thrown  into  the  most  Vio- 
lent agitation  by  a  Letter  I  received  from  Mr. 
Ezekial  Goldthwait  with  a  packit  enclosed,  which 
he  informed  [me]  was  from  you.  .  .  .  I  •  •  • 
eagerly  stepped  aside  to  open  it,  in  full  faith  I 
should  find  your  miniture  Picture  inclosed.  ...  I 
easily  got  over  my  disappointment  on  that  Score 
when  I  found  you  had  been  arrived  so  Short  a 
Time,  but  I  own  not  receiving  the  Journal  put  me 
out  of  all  Patience.  How  could  you  be  so  intol- 
erable careless,— go  trust  a  thing  to  that  conse- 
quence upon  the  Eiver;  and  then  the  four  blank 
pages  in  your  Letter,  how  can  you  answer  that  ?  .  .  . 

But  before  I  proceed  any  further  in  my  resent- 
ment let  me  consider  a  httle  .  .  .  Next  letter  I 
shall  have  Twenty  thousand  Opologys  to  make  for 
writing  in  the  manner  I  have  done.  At  present  I 
shall  only  beg  that  if  you  discover  any  Petulance  in 


124  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

what  I  have  wrote  you  would  ascribe  it  to  my  great 
warmth  of  affection.  .  .  . 

Only  the  following  fragments  of  the  journal 
referred  to  by  Mrs.  Barnes  have  been  preserved, 
but  these  fragments,  fortunately,  carry  us  back  to 
Unthank  and  Chesters. 

Oct.  14th,  1769.  I  think  myself  sound  in  mind 
but  very  infirm  in  body.  I  am  black  and  blue  spots 
with  tossing  about  the  cabin.  The  poor  Boscowen 
has  had  the  wind  ahead  since  Monday  and  a  very 
high  sea  to  struggle  against.  Betsy  has  been  very 
sick  and  never  had  on  her  clothes  till  yesterday,  when 
I  obliged  her  to  go  on  deck,  where  she  had  not  been 
half  an  hour  before  she  said  she  was  dying.  If  you 
had  seen  her  you  would  have  thought  so.  The  Cap- 
tain took  her  in  his  arms  and  brought  her  down  ; 
she  lay  some  time  quite  stupid.  I  poured  some 
orange  juice  in  her  mouth,  and  she  seemed  to  revive 
with  the  help  of  a  little  preserved  ginger.  In  less 
than  an  hour  she  was  able  to  eat  some  roast  duck. 

October  23rd.  Our  cheerfulness  was  of  short 
duration.  At  six  o'clock  the  wind  blew  like  guns ; 
the  dead  lights  were  put  up  and  the  gallery  doors 
and  windows  taken  down  and  dead  lights  put  in 
their  places.  The  sails  were  hauled  and  the  vessel 
laid  to. 

October  24.  We  have  had  candles  all  day.  Be- 
fore four  this  morning  the  wind  shifted  and  laid  the 
Boscowen  so  much  upon  her  side  that  she  lay  quite 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  125 

still  and  alarmed  all  hands  on  deck.  Others  ran  up 
in  a  moment,  pulled  the  sails  down  and  got  her  to 
rights.  Tell  Miss  Caty  she  must  not  go  to  sea  until 
she  is  more  reconciled  to  death. 

November  5th.  I  am  set  upon  the  highest  part 
of  the  quarter  deck  to  tell  you  how  I  feel  on  the 
near  approach  of  the  land  of  my  nativity.  You 
were  afraid  Betts  would  work  too  much ;  she  has 
done  nothing  but  make  her  black  petticoat.  Bill 
and  she  seem  in  raptures  at  the  thought  of  going 
ashore. 

November  6th.  We  saw  the  Lizard  yesterday 
afternoon  at  four  o'clock.     Fine  wind  and  clear  day. 

November  7.  We  have  had  a  terrible  night. 
After  getting  in  sight  of  the  Hght  house  at  Dunge- 
ness  they  were  obhged  to  lay  to,  and  as  there  was  no 
prospect  of  the  wind  altering  the  Captain  thought 
it  not  safe  to  put  into  Portsmouth.  We  set  foot  on 
land  at  half  after  ten  o'clock,  came  to  the  tavern 
where  we  ate  beefsteak  and  oysters  for  supper. 

Hampton  Court,  Nov.  14th.  We  set  out  from 
Portsmouth  on  Sunday  with  three  post  chariots.  In 
the  foremost  went  Mentor  ^  and  Apollo  (a  nickname 
for  another  gentleman  on  board)  with  powder,  shot, 
pistols  and  guns,  expecting  highwaymen.  In  the 
next  EHzabeth  and  myself,  and  in  the  third  the  ser- 
vants. We  were  agreeably  disappointed  that  we 
had  no  occasion  for  Apollo's  courage  and  met  with 
nothing  on  the  way  that  was  entertaining.  Bad 
roads,  good  taverns  and  provisions  everywhere. 

1  Samuel  Danforth  of  Cambridge. 


126  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

During  the  winter,  or  for  a  portion  of  it,  the  trav- 
elers were  at  Dr.  John  Murray's  in  Norwich.  In 
July  they  visited  Scotland.  The  journal,  after  a 
lapse,  continues :  — 

Chesters,  July  ye  W^,  1770. 

I  wrote  to  you  Wednesday  the  11  instant.  We 
set  out  at  Eleven  o'Clock,  got  to  Linn  that  night, 
had  very  fine  weather  &  roads.  On  thursday  at 
noon  we  arrived  at  Peterborough,  viewed  the  Ca- 
thedral &  the  place  where  Queen  Mary  was  buried. 
.  .  .  Friday  noon  we  called  on  Mr.  Harrison.  He 
was  not  come  from  London.  We  invited  them  to 
Scotland.  Slept  at  York.  In  the  morning  viewed 
the  Cathedral  where  we  saw  many  curiositys.  Yor- 
ick's  great  grandfather  is  there.  I  wished  he  had  left 
me  a  legacy.     From  that  we  went  to  the  Assembly 

room  then  to  Breakfast.     Slept  at  dined  at 

Perth,  had  fresh  horses  at  Carlisle,  came  over  the 
river  Esk  at  6  o'clock.  This  river  divides  England 
and  Scotland.  Here  I  had  a  Qualm  come  over  me. 
My  cousin  observed  it.  He  quited  his  English  & 
talk'd  Scot's  in  a  very  droll  manner.  We  Slept  at 
Langham,  which  was  only  6  miles  from  Unthank 
where  I  was  born.  I  asked  the  landlord  many 
questions.  I  left  that  Country  at  six  years  old,  but 
remembered  names  of  places,  and  people ;  bid  the 
driver  stop  and  tell  me  when  we  came  to  them. 
Unthank  I  viewed,  and  the  little  rivulet  where  my 
Bro'"  Will  and  I  learnt  our  horn  book. 

When  I  came  to  the  Dewslees  I  thought  of  my 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  127 

first  frind  that  I  used  to  Weed  the  Water  to  see. 
She  died  at  seven  years  old.  I  called  in  at  a  Sister 
of  hers  who  was  my  brother's  first  love.  This  Scene 
was  moving.  I  bid  her  look  at  me.  She  did  so 
some  time.  Said  she  did  not  know  me.  I  asked  her 
if  she  remembered  Bennee  Atcheson.  "  Yes/'  says 
she,  "  that  was  my  sister.  I  beg  you  '11  tell  me  who 
you  are."  I  said,  "  Betty  Murray."  She  then  Claspt 
me  in  her  arms  &  cry'd  most  heartily  ;  led  me  to  a 
chair  saying,  "  My  dear  I  'm  glad  to  See  you.  Ex- 
cuse my  behaviour,  but  0  our  fathers  &  mothers. 
A  sight  of  you  brings  many  things  to  my  mind. 
Where  is  your  Brothers  &  Sister.  Who  is  that 
with  you  ?  Step  down  to  the  road,  my  son,  and  ask 
them  to  Breakfast."  I  told  her  who  they  were,  and 
ran  out  of  the  house.  As  we  proposed  to  dine  at 
Chesters  we  were  in  a  hurry.  I  promised  to  spend 
some  time  with  her  this  summer. 

Next  stage  was  Hawick.  Langham  Wolly  drove 
to  the  house  we  used  to  five  in.  Here  my  mother 
died.  I  run  over  the  house  &  remembered  the  room 
where  I  saw  her  a  corps.  While  Breakfast  was 
geting  ready  my  cousin.  Bets,  &  I  went  to  the  Kirk 
yeard  where  we  saw  the  man  that  dug  the  grave. 
We  walked  about  half  an  hour  in  that  Melancholly 
place.  Before  we  had  done  Breakfast  I  was  called 
out  to  an  old  woman.  "  Pardon  me,"  says  she,  "  but 
the  Saxton  told  me  one  of  Mrs.  Murray's  daughters 
was  in  town.  Are  ye  Mrs.  Baby  ?  "  '  "  No,  I  'm 
Betty."     She  then  flew  to  me.     "  My  dear  Betty, 

^  Barbara. 


128  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

monne  night  ha  ye  lain  in  my  arms  in  Suck  in  that 
room.  Come  up  &  I  '11  shew  it  to  you."  This  wo- 
man told  me  of  many  of  my  school  fellows  and  of 
our  Mrs. . 

At  twelve  we  set  out  and  arrived  at  Chesters  Mon- 
day, ye  16*^  July,  before  two.  My  aunt^  met  us  in 
the  Avenue,  let  Betts  &  I  into  the  house  &  Said, 
"  This  is  a  day  I  have  longed  to  see."  She  was 
more  moved  than  I  was.  Jeany^  was  called.  She 
entered  to  appearance  unmoved,  &  continued  in  the 
Same  way  until  the  evening.  She  then  was  reHeved 
by  a  flood  of  tears.     It  gives  me  pleasure  to  see  her 

cry.    She  is  strangely  affected.    Anny  is  at  the 

Beathing  for  the  Ehumatism.  They  wrote  to  her 
that  we  would  be  here  in  a  fortnight,  that  is  the 
time  she  is  ordered  by  the  doctors  to  stay.  On 
tuesday  morne  Tempenden  &  cousin  Nanny  came  to 
See  us.  His  lady  had  on  blisters  &  was  afraid  of 
catching  cold,  beg'd  we  wou'd  dine  there.  [Ap- 
parently the  invitation  was  accepted.] 

My  Aunt  &  I  in  the  chaise,  Jeany  &  Uncle  single, 
Betts  behind  her  uncle  Douglas.  We  spent  an 
agreable  day.  .  .  .  They  returned  the  visit.  My 
aunt  &  I  left  then  in  the  afternoon  and  r'd  to  Stand 
Hill  to  See  Coll.  TrombulFs  widow  and  Aunt  Sten- 
house  who  was  sick.  Thursday  Mr.  Scott  came  to 
see  us.  Friday  Auntie  Stenhouse  &  Miss  Stewart 
spent  the  day  &  slept  here.  Betts  and  Uncle  Ben- 
nett dined  at  Tempenden  Saturday.     Mrs.  Douglass 

^  The  mother  of  James  Murray's  first  wife. 
^  Jean  Bennet. 


BITS  OF  FAlVnLY  HISTORY  129 

is  to  come  over  for  me  to  go  to  Jedburrough  kirk 
the  morn.  I  wont  go.  Ill  go  to  Ancrum  with  my 
aunt. 

Before  I  set  out  from  Norwich  I  said  you  would 
like  to  be  of  the  party,  but  I  thought  otherwise  on 
the  journey,  for  our  post  boys  drove  so  furiously  up 
hill  and  down  that  I  often  said  to  Betts,  "  This  would 
not  do  for  Mrs.  Barnes."  Now  I  wish  for  you.  I 
am  certain  you  would  be  delighted  with  this  coun- 
try and  the  reception  you  would  meet  with.  This 
place  and  family  is  so  natural  to  me  it  seems  as  if  I 
had  not  been  gone  a  year.  My  Aunt  and  Bob  ^  has 
made  great  improvements,  but  all  on  my  Uncle's 
plan.  Tom  Sword,  my  Uncle's  waiting  man,  is 
eighty  years  old,  Hves  in  a  house  at  the  foot  of  the 
Avenue.  His  daughter  Baby  takes  care  of  him 
under  my  Aunt's  direction.  He  tells  me  many  old 
storys  that  are  very  pleasing,  crys  over  Betts,  says, 
"  0,  my  Bairn,  how  good  your  Mother  was,  gentle 
and  simple,  all  loved  her.  I  have  seen  5  Laii'ds 
here." 

Teviot  parts  this  estate  and  Mr.  Douglasses,  and 
Stand-hill  joins  on  the  other  side.  Judge  how  agree- 
ably we  are  situated.  A  fine  season  and  the  best 
crops  that  has  been  in  this  country  for  some  time. 

Chesters,  Friday  morn,  July  27th. 

Saturday  Mrs.  Stenhouse,  Miss  Stewart,  Mr.  Turn- 
bull,  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Douglass  and   Mr.  Elliot    dined 
here.     Sunday  went  to  Ancrum  kirk.     According 
1  Robert  Bennet,  brother  to  Anne  and  Jean. 


130  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

to  custom  took  a  ps.  [piece]  in  our  pouch.  Took  a 
walk  by  the  burn  side  in  Sir  William  Scot's  park 
and  eat  our  bread  and  cheese  between  sermons.  Got 
home  half  after  three,  Mrs.  Stenhouse  with  us.  Had 
an  elegant  dinner  and  good  stomachs.  Betts  sick 
with  eating  strawberry s  and  cream  after  sallad. 
They  appeared  so  frightened  that  she  bui'st  out  a 
crying.  Uncle  stood  Doctor,  and  she  soon  recov- 
ered. 

Monday.  A  fine  day  —  walked  to  the  mowers 
where  they  were  cutting  fine  grass  and  said  it  would 
be  two  ton  and  a  half  of  an  acre.  In  the  afternoon 
we  viewed  several  of  our  old  walks.  These  brought 
to  Jeany's  remembrance  and  mine  some  curious  bat- 
tles in  our  childhood  and  many  promises  of  friend- 
ship when  we  were  capable  of  that  noble  passion. 

Tuesday  10  o'clock.  Uncle,  Jeany,  Bets  and  E. 
S.  set  out  for  Newton  Don,  where  we  arrived  at  two 
and  were  received  in  the  kindest  manner.  The  good 
old  lady  seemed  in  raptures.  I  had  not  seen  her 
these  23  years.  It  rained  hard  —  we  kept  house  all 
the  afternoon.  Wednesday  her  coach  and  chaise 
was  tackled  for  us  to  take  an  airing  and  see  aU  the 
curiositys  of  Kelso.  Here  she  showed  me  where  my 
Sister  hved,  talked  much  of  her  and  the  children 
especially  Anny.  The  dinner  bell  was  ringing  when 
we  got  home.  Sate  down  in  our  morning  dress. 
After  dinner  dressed  and  altho'  the  gTass  was  very 
wet  her  ladyship  begged  us  to  walk.  We  kilted  our 
coats  and  followed  her  for  half  a  mile  to  one  of  the 
finest  falls  of  water  in  Scotland,     The  other  side  of 


BITS   OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  131 

this  water  is  Sir  Kobert  Pringles  estate.  She  con- 
ducted us  around  by  the  water  side  through  a  fine 
grove  of  young  trees  and  some  of  her  tennents 
houses.  Saw  a  number  of  children.  As  they  came 
near  her  she  named  them  and  asked  them  kind  ques- 
tions, patted  their  head,  bid  them  put  on  their  bon- 
net. This  good  woman  is  Doctor  to  all  the  poor 
folks  for  miles  round.  In  difficult  cases  she  advises 
with  my  Brother  John  and  Doctor  Eutherford. 

Upon  her  arrival  in  Norwich  Mrs.  Smith  had  con- 
cerned herself  with  the  future  of  her  brother  John's 
son  and  daughter,  John  and  Mary.  They  were 
both  to  be  sent  to  New  England,  to  James's  care, 
provided  with  a  stock  in  trade  like  that  which  their 
aunt  had  begun  life  with.-^  The  two  young  emi- 
grants crossed  the  ocean  safely  and  were  welcomed 
by  Mr.  Murray  at  Brush  Hill. 

1  Norwich,  March  23d,  1770. 

We,  Elizabeth  Smith  widow  late  of  Boston,  New  England,  now  of 
Norwich  and  John  Murray  Doctor  of  Physic  in  Norwich  aforesaid 
do  hereby  bind  and  oblige  ourselves  our  Heirs,  and  Executors  jointly 
and  severally  to  Messers  Bridgen  and  Waller,  Merchants  in  London 
their  Heirs  and  Executors  to  be  accountable  for  and  discharge  all 
such  sum  or  sums  of  money  as  they  shall  from  time  to  time  advance 
in  goods  in  behalf  and  for  the  use  of  John  the  Son  and  Mary  the 
Daughter  of  the  said  John  Murray  in  consequence  of  orders  now 
given  or  hereafter  to  be  given  by  either  or  both  of  us  as  witness  our 
Hands  at  Norwich  this  23d  March  1770. 

Witness  :  Anne  Boyles  Signed  :  John  Murray 

Val.  Boyles  Eliz.  Smith 


132  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   ELIZABETH   SMITH. 

Brush-hill,  June  8th,  1770.    ' 

Dear  Sister,  —  On  Monday  evening  Capt. 
Jacobson  arrived  and  on  Tuesday  morning  Mr. 
Goldthwait  who  was  so  kind  as  to  take  care  of  our 
Niece  and  Nephew  sent  me  up  the  Letters  they 
brought.  Your  Sister  went  immediately  to  Town 
and  brought  them  up  in  the  Evening.  They  are 
very  fine  Children  and  I  am  as  much  pleased  now 
that  they  are  come  as  I  was  feared  before  about 
their  coming,  on  Account  of  the  factious  Spirit  now 
at  a  great  height  here,  indeed  it  cannot  rise  much 
higher  without  the  poor  People,  many  of  whom  are 
almost  starving  for  want  of  Employment,  going  to 
plunder  the  Eich  and  then  cutting  their  throats. 
The  Children  I  intend  to  keep  here  as  I  shall  write 
the  Doctor ;  their  Goods  will  be  easily  disposed  of 
if  they  can  be  got  clear  of  the  Clutches  of  the  Sons 
of  Liberty.  How  that  is  to  be  effected,  Jacky 
Clark  ^  is  now  going  to  town  to  consult  and  contrive. 
He  came  hither  yesterday  from  Providence. 

Mr.  Goldthwait  tells  me,  there  are  now  seventy 
houses  in  town  empty  and  like  to  continue  so  and 
the  number  even  to  increase.  Among  them  is  your 
Sugar  house.  Cotton  House,  and  the  two  houses  in 
King  Street,  formerly  occupied  by  Butler,  DeCher- 

eau  and  Pitcher.     Mr.  G has  in  vain  offered 

them  for  less  rent  than  they  used  to  let  at. 

^  John  Innes  Clark.  He  had  come  over  from  England  to  be  ap- 
prenticed to  Mr.  Murray,  but  later  went  into  business  with  Mr. 
Nightingale  at  Providence. 


BITS   OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  133 

Betsey,  during  the  greater  part  of  her  stay  in 
Scotland,  was  at  Mrs.  Hamilton's  boarding  school 
in  Edinburgh.  There,  in  her  letters,  she  is  to  be 
seen,  busied  occasionally  with  such  serious  studies 
as  writing,  music,  and  dancing ;  but  oftener  and 
more  profitably  at  the  play,  or  enjoying  an  assembly, 
while  her  aunt  keeps  her  supphed  with  proper  gowns, 
and  rejoices  in  her  when  she  sees  her  shining  con- 
spicuous by  her  beauty  among  the  Edinburgh  belles. 

ELIZABETH  MURRAY  TO   ELIZABETH   SMITH. 

January  4,  1771. 

.  .  .  When  I  came  from  Musilburgh,  I  received 
a  message  from  Lady  Philiphaugh  desiring  my  com- 
pany to  dine  there  Saturday  and  another  from  Mrs. 
Brown  of  Eleston  to  go  to  the  play  with  her  the 
same  night.  I  went  to  both.  Mr.  Charles  Murray 
is  arrived  in  London  and  is  soon  expected  here.  I 
am  sure  I  am  much  obhged  to  that  family.  Miss 
Murray  introduced  me  to  Mrs.  Brown,  who  takes  a 
great  deal  of  notice  of  me  both  by  inviting  me  to 
her  own  house  and  to  public  places.  Lady  Philip- 
haugh is  extremely  kind  to  me,  and  thinks  I  never 
can  come  often  enough  to  her  house.  The  play 
and  farse  a  Saturday  was  "  The  patron  and  the  Au- 
thor." A  Wednesday  I  went  to  the  Peers  Assembly 
with  Mrs.  Hamilton  and  several  of  her  young  Ladies. 
It  was  a  very  brilliant  one,  a  great  many  handsome 
women  and  very  genteely  dressed.  There  is  to  be 
no  Assemblies  this  Winter,  but  a  few  such  as  the 
Queen's  &c  &c. 


134  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

ELIZABETH   MUERAY   TO   JEAN   BENKET. 

January  11,  [1771.] 

...  I  wrote  my  Aunt  in  my  last  that  I  went  to 
the  Peers  assembly,  but  did  not  dance.  There  is  to 
be  one  more  this  season,  which  is  Friday  next. 
Lamott  is  to  have  a  Publick  next  Wednesday,  so  I 
believe  I  shall  dance  at  the  Queens  Assembly.  I 
was  at  the  play  last  Saturday  with  Mrs.  St.  Clair. 
It  was  the  Spanish  Friar  and  the  Apprentice.  As 
for  visiting  I  fear  you  will  hear  many  complaints  of 
me,  for  I  seldom  go  abroad  without  being  sent  for. 
In  the  first  place  I  have  writing  and  Musick  to 
attend  in  the  forenoon,  Lamott  in  the  afternoon.  I 
dont  know  one  part  of  the  town  so  am  always 
obliged  to  hire  a  Cheur  or  run  after  a  Cawde  which 
quite  discourages  me  from  paying  visits  the  little 
time  I  can  spare. 

The  Auntie  Stenhouse  mentioned  in  the  journal 
and  letters  w^as  an  aunt  of  the  Bennet  sisters.  She 
rivaled  Mrs.  Barnes  in  the  license  given  to  her  pen. 

HELEN   STENHOUSE   TO   DOROTHY   FORBES. 

My  Dear  Dolly,  —  1°"  Just  now  Come  over  from 
Stand  hill  on  a  viset  to  Grand  ma.  Aunt  Smith  & 
aU  y"^  auntes,  not  forge  ting  honey  Sister  Bettzie  who 
are  all  very  well,  &  as  throng  as  three  in  a  bed. 
One  makes  up  Capes ;  an  other  flounceing  a  gown 
&  pettycoat ;  a  thii'd  make  a  pin  Cusheon,  all  to  Cutt 
a  figure  at  our  Kellso  Balls,  which  is  upon  y^  10*^  Inst. 
F  warant  many  akeing  heart  they"  leave  when  they 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  135 

return  home  again.    I  supose  you"  soon  have  a  letter 
from  y'  Sister  y'  Dutches  of  Roxeburgh,  for  I  wont 
have  her  a  husband  in  our  Country  under  a  Duke, 
mind  that.     And  mind  too  that  Auntie  Stenhouse 
wont  be  pleased  if  you  &  y'^  husband  dont  Come 
over  to  Stand  god  father  &  god  mother  to  y"  young 
Duke.     In  truth,  says  ye,  I  think  auntie  Stenhouse 
is  Just  as  Daft  &  f roHcksome  as  she  was  when  I  left 
Scotland.     Why  &  so  I  am.     You  know  1°^  but  a 
young  girl ;  only  three  Scor ;  thats  all.     I  Expect 
to  be  a   grand  Aunt  in  a  day  or  tow  by  y'  Aunt 
Douglass.     I  find  y'"  Lady  Ship  has  made  me  a  great 
grand  aunt  Some  thne  ago.^    How  I  Shoud  Laugh  to 
See  my  Httle  Doll  sitting  w^  my  Nephew,  tupphng  & 
Suckleing  his  Bottle.     Well  may  you  &  he  thrive, 
Say  I ;  &  when  you  wi-it  to  y'  friends  here  pray  drop 
a  hne  from  y'  faer  hand  to  old  auntie  Stenhouse, 
which  I  assure  you  I  lay  up  amongest  my  favourd 
Epistles.     I  must  now  Conclude,  as  its  drawing  negh 
night  &  as  I"^  wife  to  a  great  farmer  must  get  me 
home  against  the  Cows  be  to  milk  to  make  y"  Cheas 
&c.     My  affect  Compts  to  my  Nephew  Forbys,  & 
doe  give  y'  Httle  Suckling  a  kiss  from  Auntie  Sten- 
house.    I  ever  am.  My  Dr  Mad°^ 

Your  most  affect  aunt 

Hellen  Stenhouse. 

Chesters  4""  Sep*'  1770. 

Mr.  Murray's  next  letter  to  his  daughter  confesses 

1  A  letter  from  Mr.  Murray  to  Mrs.  Smith,  of  March  12,  1770, 
said,  «  I  have  received  a  letter  of  the  5th  December  from  Mr.  Forbes 
giving  me  the  joyful  news  of  Dolly's  safe  delivery  of  a  son." 


136  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

quite  naively  the  home  pressure  which  has  sent  him 
over  seas.  His  sister's  return  to  America  and  the 
emigration  of  Dr.  John  Murray's  daughter  Anne 
are  also  spoken  of.  During  Mrs.  Smith's  absence 
and  that  of  her  brother  her  affairs,  left  in  Mr. 
Goldthwaite's  hands,  had  fallen  into  confusion,  and 
her  return  was  hastened  by  her  desire  to  straighten 
them  out. 


JAMES  MUKRAY  TO  DOROTHY  FORBES. 

London,  June  21st,  1771. 

My  Dear  Dolly,  —  Yesterday  I  had  the  pleasure 
to  receive  your  Letters  of  the  10th  February,  and  on 
the  27th  of  last  month  Mr.  Forbes'  of  the  12th 
March.  These  Letters  I  have  been  long  looking 
for,  having  heard  a  great  while  ago  of  Capt.  Oakes' 
safe  arrival,  but  from  your  and  your  good  mans 
Silence  I  inferred  that  you  were  not  in  Spirits  and 
rather  pitied  than  blamed  you.  For  which  reason  I 
forbore  writing  you  for  some  time  after  my  Arrival 
here,  that  you  might  not  have  the  heavy  task  of 
Answering  letters  or  the  Compunction  for  not  an- 
swering them.  However,  I  ventured  to  write  Mr. 
Forbes  last  month  by  way  of  South  CaroHna,  after 
Sister  Smith,  Betsey,  Mrs.  Barclay,  her  Daughter, 
Mr.  Barnes  and  Anny  Murray,  the  Doctor's  second 
Daughter,  had  embarked  for  Casco  bay  in  the 
Osterly-Lizard,  a  fine  large  Mast  Ship  which  they 
preferred  to  a  small  Merchantman  going  directly  to 
Boston. 

Your  Aunt's  health  is  much  better  for  her  voyage 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  137 

and  journey  to  Scotland,  with  which  both  she  and 
Betsey  returned  much  pleased.  Had  your  letters 
had  any  toUerable  passage,  they  would  have  made 
your  Aunt  and  Sister  very  happy,  and  you  would 
have  had  long  Letters  from  them ;  for  they  are  both 
become  great  Writers  and  keep  up  a  large  Corre- 
spondence, while  your  old  father  can  scarcely  and 
but  rarely  prevail  on  himself  to  write  a  few  lines  to 
those  he  loves  the  best. 

Altho'  I  was  silent  on  the  Errand  that  brought 
me  hither  you  might  easily  conjecture  it.  My  Sit- 
uation at  Brush-hill  was  quite  agreeable  to  me.  You 
know  I  always  liked  a  Country  Life,  but  your 
Mamma  in  the  early  part  of  Life  always  lived  in  a 
town  and  liked  it.  The  Retirement  at  Brush-hill, 
especially  in  the  winter  time,  did  not  suit  her  taste. 
She  saw  Mr.  Ben  &  Bob  HoUywell,'  Mr.  Flucker,^ 
and  Brig'r  Ruggles  ^  for  being  friends  of   Govern- 

1  Robert  Hallowell  of  Boston  was  comptroller  of  the  customs. 
In  1765  a  mob  "  surrounded  his  elegant  house  in  Hanover  Street, 
tore  down  his  fences,  broke  his  windows,  and,  forcing  the  doors  at 
last,  destroyed  furniture,  stole  money,  scattered  books  and  papers 
and  drank  of  the  wines  in  the  cellar  to  drunkeness."  Sabine's 
Loyalists  of  the  Am.  Rev.,  vol.  i.  p.  508. 

Benjamin  Hallowell,  brother  of  Robert,  was  commissioner  of  the 
customs.  "  In  1774,  while  passing  through  Cambridge  in  his  chaise, 
he  was  pursued  toward  Boston  by  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  men 
on  horseback,  at  full  gallop."     Tbid.,  p.  509. 

2  Thomas  Flucker  was  the  last  secretary  of  the  Province  of  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay.     Ihid.,  p.  428. 

^  Timothy  Ruggles  was  brigadier-general  in  the  war  of  1755.  As 
a  lawyer  and  a  supporter  of  the  measures  of  the  Ministry  he  was 
frequently  opposed,  in  discussions,  to  Otis.  In  1774  his  house  was 
attacked  at  night,  and  his  cattle  maimed  and  poisoned.  He  was  "  a 
wit  and  a  man  of  rude  manners  and  rude  speech."    iJirf.,  vol.  ii.  p.  242. 


138  JAIVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

ment  get  handsome  places,  and  proposed  that  I,  who 
had  no  less  signalized  myself  on  that  side,  should 
also  exert  myself  and  try  my  Luck  and  Interest. 
You,  or  at  least  Mr.  Forbes  knows  how  necessary  it 
is  to  keep  peace  at  home.  For  this  end  I,  under  all 
my  aversion  to  return  to  the  Bustle  of  Life,  from  a 
thorough  sense  of  the  vain  Issue  of  it,  and  quite 
convinced  at  the  same  time  of  the  awkward  figure 
I  should  make  at  Court,  a  Theatre  I  had  never  been 
accustomed  to,  ventured  to  cross  the  Atlantic,  im- 
agining as  every  body  in  Boston  did,  that  the  affairs 
of  that  Province  would  come  under  the  Considera- 
tion of  Parliament  as  soon  as  the  prospect  of  war 
vanished  and  that  it  would  require  no  great  degree 
of  Interest  or  address  or  Merit  to  get  in  the  Changes 
that  might  happen  all  I  wanted.  But  on  my  Arrival 
I  found  American  affairs  were  to  be  passed  over  in 
Silence  and  my  Reception  from  some  friends  ap- 
peared colder  than  I  expected.  This  set  me  in  low 
Spirits,  still  lowered  by  an  ugly  wet  winter,  so  I  was 
sick  of  my  Voyage.  But  the  weather  mending,  my 
Sister  and  Betsey  coming  up  so  hearty,  my  health 
grew  better,  and  I  plucked  up  resolution  to  explain 
my  Errand  to  some  Friends  in  a  manner  I  had  not 
done  for  the  two  first  months,  and  that  with  so 
much  success  as  induced  me  to  continue  here  in 
hopes  that  I  shall  not  be  forgot  when  any  thing 
casts  up,  which  I  can  aim  at.  If  I  am  obliged  at 
last  to  return,  as  Mr.  Barnes  ^  and  many  others  have 
done,  without  any  provision,  I  shall  reap  this  advan- 

^  Henry  Barnes  of  Marlborough. 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  139 

tage  at  least  by  the  voyage.  Both  your  Mama  and 
I  feeHng  the  Inconveniences  of  a  Separation  will 
be  more  patient  under  those  we  may  meet  with  to- 
gether. 

My  Presence  here  has  already  had  one  good 
effect.  I  have  persuaded  my  Brother  Will  to  sell 
out  of  the  Army,  by  which  he  will  have  L.  2000  to 
dispose  of  at  his  death  to  such  of  Nephews  or  Nieces 
as  stand  most  in  need  or  favour.  I  expect  him  every 
day  from  Ireland,  where  he  leaves  the  Regiment. 

Your  Uncle  the  Doctor  says  he  is  getting  into 
better  business  than  he  had  at  first  moving  to  Nor- 
wich. Two  of  the  seven  children  he  has  left  at 
home  are  in  a  dangerous  way.  He  has  now  three 
in  America.^ 

Your  Uncle  Bennet  is  now  a  Lieut,  in  the  first  or 
Royal  Regiment,  and  is  gone  with  his  Corps  to 
Mmorca  for  three  years.  Every  body  speaks  weU 
of  him.  In  his  WiU  he  has  left  you  and  Betsey 
what  would  have  been  your  Mamma's  part  of  the 
Estate,  which  is  now  above  L.300  a  year ;  this  your 
Aunt  Smith  learned  at  Chesters.  Your  Aunt  Jeany 
is  grown  very  tender.  Both  she  and  Anny  were 
very  fond  of  Betsey,  and  the  sight  of  her  has  rivet- 
ted  their  affections  to  you  both. 

Not  being  able  to  visit  my  native  country  in  the 
splendor  that  others  who  started  with  me  have  done, 
I  have  hesitated  about  making  the  tour,  though  I 
have  had  several  pressing  Invitations,  but  I  believe 
I  shall  pluck  up  Resolution  to  take  a  glimpse  of  our 
friends  there  with  brother  Will. 

^  John,  Mary,  and  Anne. 


140  JAMES  MUKKAY,  LOYALIST 

As  I  write  you  so  seldom,  and  that  (I  have  said) 
is  partly  your  fault,  I  must  not  let  this  letter  sHp 
through  my  hands  without  being  as  particular  as  it 
may  be.  I  shall  enquire  at  Mr.  Forbes's,  Bedford 
Street,  for  your  Mr.  Forbes's  brother  and  do  him  all 
the  service  I  can.  .  .  . 

One  of  the  best  friends  I  have  here  is  Gen. 
Mackay,  who  now  has  the  Reg't  quartered  with 
you  and  with  whom  I  may  perhaps  have  influence 
to  obtain  any  favor  that  may  lie  in  our  Mr.  F's. 
way,  tho'  I  shall  and  ought  to  be  cautious  of  press- 
ing him  on  too  many  sides  at  once.  He  tells  me 
there  is  a  Chaplain  with  his  Reg't.  .  .  . 

If  I  cannot  accompHsh  my  business  here  in  time 
to  reach  Boston  before  the  Winter  sets  in,  it  will 
give  me  a  fit  opportunity  of  taking  you  up  to  Au- 
gustine, of  going  to  Cape  Fear  to  settle  my  affairs 
there,  and  from  thence  to  proceed  early  in  the 
Spring  to  Boston.  But,  like  a  Lover  whose  Court- 
ship is  known,  I  shall  be  loth  to  leave  the  Chase, 
if  the  game  should  hold  out  even  till  next  Spring ; 
beyond  that  period  I  will  not  persevere.  I  have  a 
strict  charge  from  your  Mama  not  to  go  to  Carolina 
without  her,  and  she  even  threatens  to  come  and 
carry  me  home  if  I  do  not  come  out  with  your 
Aunt.  If  she  is  in  earnest  in  this,  it  wiU  discon- 
cert me  not  a  little  and  cause  my  Departure  in  a 
hurry. 

Your  Sister  (I  must  return  to  her)  has  been  much 
improved  at  home,  was  at  one  of  the  best  boarding 
schools  in  Edinburgh,  has  learned  to  sing  and  play 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  141 

on  the  guitar,  is  grown  very  tall  and  so  pretty  as  to 
be  a  conspicuous  figure  in  an  Ed^  Assembly.  .  .  . 

I  shall  send  some  Shoes  for  your  Son  by  Mr. 
Gordon,  your  Att'y  General,  who  does  not  look  un- 
like your  old  Mr.  Gordon.  But  you  ought  to  put 
no  Stockings  on  the  Child.  If  you  cannot  lay  in  a 
Stock  of  Resignation  about  the  fate  of  your  Child 
or  Children,  you  will  not  only  make  yourself  and 
every  body  about  you  unhappy  by  your  Anxiety, 
but  you  will  defeat  the  purpose  you  aim  at,  you  will 
kill  with  kindness. 

Mr.  Bridgen,  my  friend,  has  an  only  daughter  a 
child  about  five  years,  the  heness  of  a  great  fortune, 
who  is  now  faUing  a  sacrifice  to  the  Doctors  and 
Apothecarys  in  the  whooping-cough,  a  distemper 
that  seldom  proves  mortal  to  poor  peoples  children, 
who  have  free  access  to  air  and  natures  fare.  .  .  . 
My  affectionate  complunents  to  Mr.  Forbes  and 
thanks  for  his  kind  letter,  to  which  I  hope  he  will 
count  this  long  letter  an  answer. 

I  am  My  Dear 
Your  most  affectionate  father 

No  sooner  had  Mrs.  Smith  arrived  in  Boston  than 
Mrs.  Barnes's  surmises  concerning  her  matrimonial 
outlook  ran  riot,  and,  as  it  proved,  not  without  excuse. 

MRS.    BARNES   TO   ELIZABETH   SMITH. 

Aug.  5,  1771. 

I  dare  say  by  this  time  you  have  a  Httle  leisure 
to  look  into  your  own  affairs.     Pray  let  me  know  if 


142  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

the  Gentleman  was  not  extremely  shok'd  when  you 
inform' d  him  his  Ticket  was  a  blank  and  in  what 
manner  you  communicated  the  intelHgence ;  and  I 
should  like  wise  be  glad  to  know  whether  your  nego- 
tiations upon  the  Hill  is  Hke  to  take  place.  ...  I 
will  not  give  you  my  sentiments  upon  it  till  I  know 
whether  you  were  in  Jest  or  Earnest,  but  so  far  I 
will  venture  to  say  that  I  approve  of  no  Hills  but 
Milton  Hill.  Observe  by  the  way  that  Cambridge 
is  a  flat  country  and  when  I  exclude  Hills  that  is 
out  of  the  question.  If  you  like  the  Situation  .  .  . 
why  I  say  Amen,  but  I  think  it  is  a  little  hard  that 
I  cannot  be  Present  when  all  these  affairs  are  in 
agitation.  ...  It  is  not  either  a  high  or  Low  sit- 
uation that  will  mend  your  constitution.  Retirement 
and  ease  is  what  you  at  present  stand  in  need  of, 
and  in  order  to  procure  that  you  must  fix  upon 
some  worthy  Person  who  wiU  reheve  you  from  the 
fatigues  and  cares  of  life  or  at  least  share  them 
with  you.  Perhaps  you  will  say  the  remedy  may  be 
as  bad  as  the  disease. 

Bad  or  not,  it  was  a  remedy  that  Mrs.  Smith  had 
resolved  to  try.  She  did,  undoubtedly,  feel  the 
need  of  assistance,  and  her  marriage  to  Ralph  Inman, 
a  wealthy  retired  merchant  of  Boston,  took  place  in 
September  of  the  same  year.  Although  anticipated 
in  a  measure  by  Mrs.  Barnes,  the  step  was  a  siuprise 
to  Dr.  John. 


BITS  OF  FAJyiILY  HISTORY  143 

DR.   JOHN   MURRAY   TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Norwich,  November  9th,  1771. 

Dear  Sister  :  —  On  the  30th  of  last  month  your 
affectionate  favour  of  23d  September  came  safe  to 
hand,  which  informed  us  of  your  intention  to  re- 
enter into  a  married  state,  your  general  reasons  for 
that  step  and  your  future  plan  of  life. 

As  our  children  had  not  mentioned  anything  of 
this  event,  and  you  said  the  news  of  it  had  given 
them  a  shock,  I  must  own  that  I  was  a  little  affected 
on  their  account,  and  I  believe  your  Sister  more 
than  me,  although  she  took  but  little  notice  of  it. 

Upon  mature  deliberation,  I  am  incHned  to  ap- 
prove this  change  of  life  after  your  return  to  Amer- 
ica ;  for  having  heretofore  appeared  as  a  person  of 
consequence  there,  it  would  ill-brook  our  family 
spirit  to  be  degraded  to  a  kind  of  nothingness  with- 
out a  home  or  family. 

The  chief  reason  of  my  supposing  that  you  would 
remain  single,  exclusive  of  your  attachment  to  the 
interest  of  our  Children,  was  the  difficulty  of  find- 
ing an  object  every  way  worthy  of  your  choice ; 
yet  from  what  I  remember,  or  have  heard  from  you 
and  others  of  Mr.  Inman,  I  make  no  doubt  of  your 
being  as  happy  in  this  as  in  any  of  your  former 
matrimonial  connexions.  On  this  agreeable  event, 
therefore,  your  Sister  most  sincerely  joins  me  in 
wishing  both  Mr.  Inman  and  you  much  joy  and  all 
manner  of  happiness  for  the  remainder  of  your  fives. 

With  regard  to  your  private  affairs,  as  the  con- 
cern was  principally  your  own,  you  certainly  had  a 


144  JAMES  MUKRAY,  LOYALIST 

right  to  dispose  of  them  as  you  thought  proper ; 
and  the  method  you  have  taken,  I  must  think  the 
best,  as  it  is  acting  with  your  usual  generosity  and 
confidence,  which  will  naturally  meet  with  an  equal 
return. 

I  and  my  family  having  abeady  got  so  much  we 
have  no  right  to  expect,  far  less  to  claim,  more. 
Therefore  whatever  future  favours  you  shew  to  me 
or  mine  ought  and  shall  be  attributed  to  your  and 
Mr.  Inman's  affection  and  benevolence. 

My  Path  is  still  strewed  with  thorns,  for  difficul- 
ties of  one  kind  or  another  continually  spring  up  as 
others  are  surmounted  ;  but  as  it  has  ever  been  my 
study  faithfully  to  discharge  the  various  duties  of 
life,  and  Providence  has  most  wonderfully  supported 
me  in  my  several  exigencies,  I  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  of  the  continuance  of  its  protection  and 
support. 

Those  principles  which  I  have  found  useful  for 
my  own  conduct  in  life,  and  have  instilled  into  the 
elder  branches  of  my  family  with  your  approbation, 
I  shall  as  far  as  Hes  in  my  power  inspire  the  younger 
with,  who  hitherto  promise  to  fall  nothing  short  of 
their  predecessors.  Therefore  I  hope  they  will  in 
due  time  become  equally  worthy  of  your  regard  and 
agreeable  to  society. 

We  write  by  this  conveyance  to  our  children, 
whose  interest,  I  dare  say,  will  suffer  nothing  from 
the  late  step  you  have  taken,  while  their  behavior 
and  conduct  continue  to  merit  your  notice  and  en- 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  145 

couragement.  Yet  you  will  forgive  me,  if  I  own 
that  I  now  and  then  feel  a  Pang  for  them.  Oh  my 
Children  !  Orphans  in  a  Strange  Land  !  what  will 
become  of  you,  if  Providence  should  remove  your 
Aunt  or  any  Cause  ahenate  her  affection  ?  Thou 
God  of  my  Fathers  and  his  Childrens  Youth  !  vouch- 
safe also  to  be  the  God  and  the  Guide  of  his  Grand- 
children. 

I  continue  to  draw  quarterly  upon  Messrs  Bridgen 
&  Waller  for  the  usual  sum,  but  have  been  obliged 
to  anticipate  a  quarter  on  account  of  extraordinary 
expenses  in  removing  into  a  new  House,  of  which  I 
wrote  a  sHght  description  in  my  last  to  our  Girls. 
I  am  sorry  to  find  that  the  Norwich  Manufactory 
does  not  answer  at  Boston,  yet  Mr.  ElHot  and  Mr. 
Emery  have  sent  some  good  Orders  to  Messrs  Brett 
&  Co.  Mr.  Day  is  at  Holland,  so  have  not  seen  him 
since  your  last  came  to  hand.  My  Business  rather 
mends,  but  an  illiberal  Jealousy  has  arisen  in  a 
quarter  I  did  not  expect. 

Charlotte  goes  to  dancing  and  writing  school, 
improves  a  pace  and  grows  tall.  Bettsy  and  Charles 
are  much  better,  but  not  well.  Jemmy  is  tender. 
The  rest  of  the  Children  are  in  good  health,  desire 
their  duty  to  their  Uncle  and  Aunt  Inman,  and 
thanks  for  their  cake  and  gloves.  Our  friends  at 
Wells  are  much  the  same  as  usual,  only  Sister  Nanny 
is  like  to  be  lame.  Your  Sister,  whose  health  is  still 
precarious,  desires  to  join  in  Love  to  you  and 
Brother  Inman,  to  whom  I  write,  to  our  other  Con- 


146  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

nexions,  and  Compliments  to  all  friends  with  Dear 
Sister, 
Your  most  obliged  and  affectionate  Brother, 

John  Murray. 

P.  S.     Our  Brothers  are  in  London. 

Early  in  1773,  Mr.  Murray,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  made  a  journey  to  the  South,  and  put  into  effect 
the  long-cherished  plan  of  persuading  his  daughter 
to  visit  her  old  home.  Mrs.  Forbes's  health  had 
suffered  visibly  during  her  stay  in  St.  Augustine. 
Remembering  the  fate  of  her  mother,  Mr.  Murray 
was  strenuous  in  his  advice  to  her  to  resort  to 
change  of  air,  and  she  prepared  to  travel  northward 
with  her  two  sons,  James  Grant,  a  child  of  three 
years  of  age,  and  John,  then  little  more  than  an 
infant.  At  the  last  moment  Mr.  Forbes  could  not 
decide  to  let  the  older  boy  go,  and  she  was  obliged 
to  proceed  without  him.  Moreover,  her  father  was 
unexpectedly  detained  in  the  South  by  business,  and 
his  plan  of  escort  failed.  She  was,  however,  a  wo- 
man equal  to  every  emergency,  and  her  long  journey 
was  undertaken  with  only  a  maid-servant  and  a 
slave,  Juba,  to  care  for  herself  and  her  little  boy. 

JAMES   MURRAY  TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

St.  Augustine,  April  27th,  1773. 

Dear  Sister,  —  Your  Brother  and  Niece  having 
been  unavoidably  detained  here  much  longer  than 
we  expected  was  convenient  for  one  in  her  situation. 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  147 

we  are  glad  to  send  her  and  the  children  by  a  fine 
transport  ship  bound  hence  to  New  York ;  whence 
she  will  take  the  first  conveyance  for  Rhode  Island. 
I  trust  in  God  she  will  get  to  Brush-hill  in  good 
time,  where  I  need  not  desire  you  to  make  every- 
thing as  convenient  for  her  as  may  be.  I  have  said 
children,  but  Mr.  Forbes  is  so  wrapt  up  in  his  eldest 
son  who  is  indeed  a  very  fine  boy,  that  he  cannot 
find  resolution  to  part  with  him. 

I  return  this  week  by  water  to  Charlestown,  thence 
as  I  can  to  Cape  Fear  and  thence  after  putting  my 
affairs  in  the  best  posture  I  can,  to  make  the  best 
of  my  way  with  your  Sister  homeward  —  vain  would 
be  any  hint  for  her  to  stay  in  CaroHna  —  the  more 
she  sees  of  other  places,  the  more  fond  she  is  of 
Boston  and  its  Neighbom-hood.  Remember  me 
affectionately  to  Mr.  Inman,  Betsey  and  the  rest  of 
the  young  folks. 

I  am  most  gratefully  Dear  Sister 

Yours 

Mrs.  Forbes's  letter  from  New  York,  which  fol- 
lows, is  brief,  but  very  expressive  of  the  inconven- 
ience of  the  uncertain  means  of  travel,  and  of  her 
urgent  need  to  be  at  her  destination. 

New  York,  May  10th,  [1773]. 

My  Dear  Aunt,  —  I  arrived  here  with  my  little 
Boy,  Juba  and  a  maid  Servant  on  Friday  last  and 
am  very  much  distressed  that  I  cannot  get  an  op- 
portunity for  Rhode  Island  till  Wednesday  next  as 


148  JAIVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

the  Small-pox  is  very  much  in  this  place — I  fear  my 
Boy  may  get  it.  My  papa  desired  me  to  send  for 
his  carriao-e  to  meet  me ;  if  it  is  not  convenient  I 
hope  you  will  be  so  good  as  write  a  few  lines  and 
leave  at  Mr.  Clarks  in  Providence  for  me  where  I 
hope  wind  and  weather  permitting  to  be  on  Satur- 
day or  Sunday  and  indeed  it  is  fiill  time  I  should 
be  at  my  journeys  end,  as  the  post  is  just  going  I 
have  only  time  to  add  my  respectful  compliments 
to  Mr.  Inman  and  love  to  my  Sister  and  Cousins. 
I  am  my  Dear  Aunt, 

Your  dutiful  &  much  obHged  Niece 

Hastily  written  on  the  same  sheet  with  this  letter, 
but  added,  evidently,  after  its  receipt  in  Massachu- 
setts, are  directions  which  follow,  from  Mrs.  Inman 
to  the  household  at  Brush  Hill :  — 

"  Dear  Ladys  see  that  Jack  fits  up  the  carriage 
properly  for  Providence.  I  shall  bring  Bill  with  me 
to  set  out  on  Wednesday  afternoon.  Pray  boil 
Barley  and  Corn  for  the  horses  and  feed  them  well. 
I  shall  bring  Mrs.  Forbes  directly  to  Brush-hill  I 
hope  on  Saturday.  Go  on  slowly  in  cleaning  your 
house,  put  up  no  Curtains  till  I  see  you.  Pray  let 
the  Barley  and  Corn  be  boiled  till  it  is  split  and 
cool  it  before  you  give  it  to  the  horses.  Give  them 
two  quarts  each  twice  a  day.  Measure  it  —  after  it 
is  boiled  a  little  salt  in  it.  If  Jack  has  time  he  may 
clean  the  yard." 

She  would  not  allow  her  niece  to  make  the  fatigu- 
ing last  stage  of  the  expedition  alone,  but  went  her- 


BITS  OF  FAMILY  HISTORY  1*9 

seM  to  Providence  and  fetched  her  safe  home.  There 
she  arrived,  spent,  indeed,  and  anxious,  but  stiU  in 
time  to  give  her  third  son,  Ralph  Bennet  Forbes, 
the  right  to  caU  himself  Massachusetts  born. 


CHAPTER  IV 

A    TORY    IN    REVOLUTIONARY   BOSTON 
1765-1778 

The  political  turmoil  in  the  midst  of  which  Mr. 
Murray  had  found  himself  upon  his  removal  to 
Boston  in  1765  filled  him  with  surprise  and  dismay. 
The  Stamp  Act  had  just  been  passed,  obnoxious 
duties  were  being  enforced,  trade  and  manufactures 
were  suffering,  and  the  town  was  in  a  ferment  of 
wrath  and  opposition.  He  had  hoped,  on  leaving 
North  Carolina,  that  he  was  turning  his  back  upon 
rebellion,  but  here  he  had  alighted  upon  the  very 
seat  of  disorder.  For  it  was  as  disorder,  first  and 
foremost,  that  the  movement  presented  itself  to 
him. 

It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Murray  never  became  a 
thorough-going  American.  The  strong  family  ties 
that  bound  him  to  the  old  country,  in  which  he  had 
himself  grown  to  man's  estate,  must  at  best,  even 
had  he  possessed  a  less  conservative  temper,  have 
divided  his  allegiance.  By  force  of  circumstances 
as  well  as  of  inclination  it  was  inevitable  that  in 
North  Carolina,  and  afterwards  in  Massachusetts, 
his  associates  should  have  been  those  whose  sympa- 
thies and  prejudices  were  upon  the   English  side. 


'    MB 

^^'MKl 

WbB^'       ■■II   "^'  -                     ^^^^^^^^^m 

^^^^^^^H       -f^^^^KI^M  ^^^^^AhB 

ELIZABETH    MURRAY   (^[RS.    INMAN) 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         151 

The  Boston  of  the  patriots,  of  James  Otis,  John 
Hancock,  and  "the  brace  of  Adamses,"  he  never 
knew. 

Yet  he  was  not  incapable  of  taking  a  broader 
view  than  did  many  of  those  in  whose  company  he 
found  himself.  As  far  back  as  1755  he  had  written 
of  a  general  union  of  the  colonies  as  "  a  step  in 
the  scheme  of  Providence  for  fixing  in  time  an  em- 
pire in  America."  He  had  no  resentment  against 
the  Stamp  Act,  which  he  declared  to  be  "  a  neces- 
sary spur"  to  the  industry  of  the  colonies;  but 
he  was  so  far  from  being  blind  to  the  logic  of  the 
future  that  he  af&rmed :  "  In  process  of  time  this 
extensive,  fertile  territory,  cultivated  as  it  will  be 
by  millions  of  people,  healthy  and  strong,  must  by 
the  nature  of  things  preponderate."  Perhaps  even 
then  he  did  not  contemplate  as  desirable,  or  even 
possible,  the  severance  of  the  ties  between  them. 
At  any  rate,  he  did  not  recognize,  in  the  grotesque 
demonstrations  which  he  saw  around  him,  any  in- 
dication that  America's  hour  of  preponderance  or 
independence  had  struck ;  nor  could  he  see  in  the 
simultaneous  rioting  throughout  the  colonies  the  be- 
ginnings of  a  union.  Even  the  protest  which  found 
expression  in  pamphlets  and  in  the  press,  in  resolves 
and  remonstrances,  had  little  significance  for  him. 
The  meaning  of  the  discontent,  the  strength  of  the 
resentment,  he  did  not  gauge ;  nor  could  his  con- 
servative, practical  mind  have  been  expected  to  read 
in  the  si^ns  of  the  times  the  future  which  was  hid- 
den  from  the  eyes  of  the  men  who  moulded  it. 


152  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

The  epithet  of  Tory  was  given  in  opprobrium. 
And  among  the  Tories  there  were  doubtless  some 
who  had  chosen  their  side  from  motives  of  mere 
self-interest.  Of  such  were  many  of  the  of&ce- 
holding  class.  Others  were  Tories  because  of  their 
love  of  peace  and  a  quiet  life,  and  because  of  their 
natural  shrinking  from  the  excess  and  violence  that 
characterized  the  acts  of  those  who  styled  them- 
selves Patriots.  Still  others,  and  these  deserved  to 
be  called  Loyalists  rather  than  Tories,  took  the  Brit- 
ish side  because  they  could  not  sever  connections 
with  the  old  home.  A  few  there  were  who  were 
Tories  from  pure  patriotism,  by  reason  of  their  con- 
viction that  rebellion  meant  ruin  to  America.  Of 
these  Thomas  Hutchinson  was  the  most  distinofuished 
example.  James  Murray  cannot,  indeed,  be  called 
a  Tory  of  the  Hutchinson  t3rpe,  and  yet  he  shared 
completely  Hutchinson's  conviction  that  the  best 
interests  of  America  were  being  sacrificed  by  the 
very  men  who  maintained  that  they  were  asserting 
her  rights.  And  although,  like  all  those  who  sided 
with  the  King,  he  incurred  suspicion  and  hatred,  he 
never,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  could  see  himself  as  an 
enemy  to  the  land  he  had  helped  to  build. 

His  own  grievances  might  well  have  disaffected 
him.  He  had  entered  the  sugar  business,  —  from 
which  Mr.  Smith  had  retired,  —  only  to  find  that 
particular  branch  of  industry  sadly  crippled.  But 
it  was  impossible  to  shake  his  loyalty.  In  July, 
1765,  he  wrote  to  his  brother  John :  — 

"  All  your  friends   here  are  well,  but  in  great 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         153 

dread  with  others  of  being  crampt  in  their  Com- 
merce and  drained  of  their  money  by  the  late  parlia- 
mentary Regulations,  which  point  more  particularly 
at  the  ruin  of  the  Sugar  Refiners,  as  well  by  the  in- 
crease of  the  Bounty  at  home,  as  of  the  Duties  here. 
At  the  worst,  '  Me  silva  cavusque  tutus  ab  insidiis 
tenui  solabitur  ervo.'  My  own  fate  or  fare,  at  this 
time  of  hfe,  I  am  not  solicitous  about.  I  should  re- 
joice indeed,  if  it  pleased  Providence  by  a  moderate 
share  of  Industry  on  my  part  to  render  me  useful 
to  my  connexions,  and  particularly  to  enable  me  to 
acquit  myseK  of  my  obligations." 

Very  soon  after  this  the  partnership  into  which 
he  had  entered  with  Mr.  Head  was  dissolved,  the 
sugar-house  was  shut  up,  and  his  business  was  at  an 
end.  The  refinery  was  reopened  a  year  later,  but 
it  was  then  merely  a  forlorn  hope,  managed  by  him 
with  but  a  single  assistant  in  the  counting-room,  his 
young  nephew,  John  Innes  Clark.  John  and  his 
brother  Thomas,  it  may  be  said  here,  had  come  over 
from  England  shortly  before  the  year  1765. 

The  simimer  of  1765  saw  the  sacking  of  Hutchin- 
son's Boston  house,  when  his  property  was  carried 
off  or  destroyed,  and  his  valuable  manuscripts  were 
scattered  to  the  winds.  The  letter  which  follows 
was  written  by  Mr.  Murray  in  November  of  that 
year,  but  it  is  singularly  free  from  condemnation 
of  the  excesses  of  the  time. 


154  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

JAMES   MURRAY  TO   DR.   JOHN   MURRAY. 

Boston,  New  England,  Nov.  13, 1765. 

You  will  have  heard  long  before  this  reaches  you 
what  a  Spirit  the  Stamp  Act  has  raised  in  these  Col- 
onies, which  for  want  of  power  on  the  part  of  the 
Crown  to  check  it  in  these  three  great  Towns,  Boston, 
York,  Philadelphia,  has  gone  very  great  Lengths 
indeed,  particularly  at  New  York.  The  multitude, 
among  which  are  many  men  of  figure  and  fortune, 
imagine  that  such  proceedings  will  surely  procure  a 
Repeal  of  the  Act  and  prevent  further  imposition ; 
while  a  few,  they  call  them  the  base  few,  are  silently 
of  opinion  that  these  late  feats  will  not  only  rivet 
the  Act  in  question,  but  bring  the  Colonies  under 
a  much  stricter  government  than  ever  they  have  yet 
felt.  The  Truth  is,  we  are  the  Children  of  a  most 
indulgent  Parent  who  has  never  exerted  her  author- 
ity over  us,  till  we  are  grown  almost  to  manhood  and 
act  accordingly ;  but  were  I  to  say  so  here  before 
our  Chief  Ruler,  the  Mob,  or  any  of  their  adherents, 
I  should  presently  have  my  house  turned  inside  out. 

The  Stamp  Act,  so  far  from  being  a  hurt  to  the 
Colonies,  which  they  pretend  to  be  unable  to  bear, 
will  be  a  necessary  Spur  to  their  Industry.  The 
Difficulty  will  be  to  keep  that  Industry  from  being 
employed  on  articles  that  will  interfere  with  the 
Mother  Country,  and  so  to  preserve  the  Benefit  & 
dependence  of  America  to  Britain  as  long  as  may  be : 
but  in  the  process  of  time,  this  extensive,  fertile  ter- 
ritory, cultivated  as  it  wiU  be  by  millions  of  people 
healthy  and  strong,  must  by  the  Nature  of  things 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         155 

preponderate.  Our  comfort  is  that  period  seems  to 
lie  far  beyond  our  day.  Enough  of  poHtics.  Let 
us  leave  them  to  abler  heads. 

I  told  you  in  my  Letter  of  July  that  the  late  acts 
bore  hard  on  the  sugar  business:  these,  and  the 
short  Crops  in  the  West  Indies,  have  prevented  the 
Importation  of  raw  sugars  here,  and  have  in  course 
shut  up  the  sugar  houses,  and  ours  among  the  rest. 
This  loss  is  like  soon  to  be  made  up  to  me  by  the 
Demise  of  my  Wife's  Mother,  who  lies  at  the  point 
of  death ;  by  this  about  L.  1500  Sterling  will  fall  to 
our  share,  the  Interest  of  which  will  support  us  in 
the  Silva  which  I  spoke  of,  for  I  think  it  is  time  for 
me,  all  circumstances  considered,  to  leave  off  bus- 
thng  for  the  world. 

When  the  Stamp  Act  was  repealed,  and  the  Smith- 
Paddock  ehns,  Tories  though  they  were,  blazed  with 
lanterns  in  the  general  rejoicing,  he  stiU  held  the 
attitude  of  judicial  and  hopeful  spectator.  To  such 
men  as  he,  men  who  were  averse  to  partisanship,  and 
whose  interests  centred  whoUy  within  the  domestic 
circle,  yet  who  could  take  a  large  impersonal  view 
of  passing  events,  the  inevitable  ban  under  which, 
as  Tories,  they  afterward  fell,  bore  all  the  sting  of 
injustice. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  DR.  JOHN  MURRAY. 

N.  E.  Boston,  June  21,  1766. 
I  begin  with  informing  you  that  in  March  last  I 
resumed  without  a  Partner  the  Sugar  business,  in 


156  JAIMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

hopes  to  save  at  least  my  Expenses  of  living  in  town, 
but  how  it  will  turn  out  I  cannot  guess  till  the  end 
of  the  year.  Your  nephew  J.  I.  Clark  proves  a  very 
useful  hand  in  that  trade,  and  I  hope  in  due  time 
will  be  able  to  Carry  it  on  with  benefit  to  himself. 

Tommy  goes  on  with  moderate  success  in  his  busi- 
ness/ .  .  .  Although  there  are  some  Symptoms  of 
our  political  Constitution  and  the  morals  on  which 
it  depends  being  on  the  decline,  I  do  not  think  we 
are  yet  in  Foci  RomuH.  If  the  authority  of  the 
Crown  and  measures  of  Government  are  the  Sport 
of  faction,  there  is  no  help  for  that.  Our  Disease  is 
the  Power  of  the  People,  who  blindly  devolve  it  on  an 
artful  Demogogue.  If  at  his  Instigation  they  have 
erred  in  the  Repeal,  they  are  making  some  atonement 

1  Thomas  Clark  had  learned  the  watchmaker's  trade  iu  England, 
and  having  come  to  this  country  was  practicing  it  in  Boston.  In  1767 
he  gave  it  up,  and  went  to  take  charge  of  Mrv  Murray's  estate  in 
Cape  Fear. 

James  Clark,  his  elder  brother,  had  before  this  had  the  care  of  the 
property;  he  now  paid  a  visit  to  his  uncle  in  Boston,  and  afterward, 
in  1769,  returned  to  Wilmington.  The  Cape  Fear  estate  was  in  1767 
valued  by  Mr.  Murray  at  nearly  £3000.  Besides  Point  Repose, 
which  he  estimated  at  £2000,  he  had  mill  lands  which  he  estimated 
at  £500,  lots  in  Wilmington  at  £250,  and  other  lots  and  lands  at 
Rockfish.  In  1776,  or  sometime  thereafter,  owing  to  his  adherence 
to  the  English  side,  the  whole  of  Mr.  Murray's  property  was  confis- 
cated. It  was  then  claimed  by  Thomas  Clark,  who  presented  an  ac- 
count for  more  than  the  assessed  value  of  the  property,  and  it  was 
ultimately  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  made  over  to  him.  Mrs. 
Forbes  in  1784  went  to  Wilmington  to  recover,  if  she  could,  some  of 
her  patrimony,  but  without  success.  She  did  not  even  see  her  cousin, 
who  wrote  from  his  plantation  that  floods  prevented  his  leaving  his 
estate  to  visit  her  in  Wilmington,  but  that  if  she  could  come  to 
him  he  would  be  happy  to  see  her,  and  did  not  doubt  of  being  able  to 
convince  her  that  he  had  acted  for  the  best  in  what  he  had  done. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         157 

by  proper  Regulations  of  trade.  By  the  Lord's  Pro- 
test it  is  plain  the  circumstances  of  the  Colonies  and 
the  Consequences  of  the  Repeal  are  understood  and 
foreseen.  Mr.  Se'ry  C-n-y  may  talk  of  the  Lenity  & 
magnanimity  of  the  K.  &  Pt.  shewn  in  the  Repeal ; 
but  we  believe  the  true  motives  were  the  madness  of 
the  people  here,  magnified  at  home,  put  the  merchants 
in  fear  of  their  Souls,  I  mean  their  purses.  The 
merchants  terrified  the  Tradesmen  and  trading 
towns,  they  plied  their  members,  who  toward  the 
Conclusion  of  a  Parliament  durst  not  but  bend ;  the 
money  Interest  worked  on  the  ministry,  and  perhaps 
the  ministry's  good  will  to  their  predecessors  oper- 
ated a  little  the  same  way.  Thus  they  lost  for  fear 
of  loosing,  as  you  have  known  Patients  die  from 
fear  of  d3dng.  Enough  of  PoHtics.  Let  us  return 
to  the  fire  Side. 

The  sentiment  slowly  rising  in  Massachusetts 
against  slavery  was  to  lovers  of  the  established 
order  but  another  instance  of  the  leveling  tendency 
of  the  time,  akin  to  the  outcry  of  the  Patriots  for 
liberty  and  equality.  To  Messrs.  Duncan  and  An- 
crum  of  South  Carolina,  Mr.  Murray  wrote,  July  6, 
1765:^  — 

"  This  incloses  Bill  of  Lading  &  Invoice  for  a 
Negro  Wench  and  a  few  Goods,  which  you  will  dis- 
pose of  to  the  best  advantage  for  my  Ace*,  and  the 
three  pieces  of  silk  for  Mr.  Wm.  Corbell's  ace*.    The 

^  Dr.  John  Murray,  in  England,  however,  was  the  author  of  a  pam- 
phlet entitled  "  On  the  Gradual  Abolition  of  Slavery." 


158  JAIVIES  IVIUERAY,  LOYALIST 

Wench  was  M'  Hooper's.  I  am  well  assurd  of  her 
Honesty  &  that  she  understands  plain  cookery,  roast 
&  boild,  can  wash  &  Iron,  and  is  about  37  years  of 
age.  The  Reason  of  her  being  sent  off  is  her  tak- 
ing to  drinking,  which  the  lenity  used  to  Negroes 
here  cannot  curb."  In  March,  1767,  he  wrote  to 
the  same  correspondents  :  "  Send  me  Dennis  or  some 
other  Clever  sedate  boy  some  time  in  May  at  farthest. 
After  that  time  the  Importation  of  negroes  here  will 
probably  be  prohibited." 

When  "  Sam  Adams's  two  regiments,"  sent  by 
Gage  from  New  York,  arrived  in  Boston  and  were 
refused  shelter  in  various  places  under  the  control 
of  the  patriots,  Mr.  Murray  came  forward,  and  the 
sugar-house  was  opened  to  them  for  barracks. 
Thenceforth  "  Murray's  barracks,"  or  "  Smith's 
barracks,"  as  they  were  indiscriminately  called, 
were  a  source  of  irritation  to  the  town.  Moreover, 
his  willingness  to  lodge  British  soldiers  and  a  free 
hospitality  shown  to  British  officers,  —  General 
Mackay  ^  and  others  were  frequently  at  his  house, 
—  marked  Mr.  Murray  as  a  "King's  man."  His 
appointment,  in  1768,  as  justice  of  the  peace,  drew 
him  still  further  into  pubHc  notice.  Popular  dis- 
pleasure, in  fact,  so  far  distinguished  him  as  to  make 
him,  in  the  autumn  of  the  next  year,  the  victim  of  a 

1  The  N.  E.  Hist,  and  Gen.  Registerj  vol.  xlviii.  p.  433,  in  a  list  of 
British  officers  serving  in  America,  1754-1774,  mentions  the  Hon. 
Alexander  Mackay  as  having  received  his  commission  as  major-gen- 
eral in  April,  1770.  There  are  some  indications  in  the  letters  that 
he  was  related  to  Mrs.  Murray. 


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A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         159 

mob,  small,  certainly,  but  exclusively  his  own.     He 
has  given  a  humorous  account  of  it.^ 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  OF  NEW  YORK. 

Boston,  September  30th,  1769. 

No  doubt,  Sir,  you  have  seen,  in  the  public 
papers,  the  story  of  the  quarrel  between  Mr.  Rob- 
inson and  Mr.  Otis,  on  the  5th  inst.  In  that  affair 
Mr.  W.  S.  Brown  happened  to  strike  Mr.  Gridley, 
who,  interfering  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Otis,  had  seized 

'^  Mr.  Murray's  letter  opens  with  a  reference  to  the  quarrel 
between  James  Otis  and  John  Robinson.  This  is  described  by  S.  G. 
Drake  as  follows  :  — 

"  A  very  unfortunate  affair  happened  on  the  fifth  of  September, 
at  the  British  Coffee  house  in  King  Street,  which  was  a  rencontre 
between  James  Otis  and  John  Robinson.  The  latter  was  one  of  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Customs,  who,  Mr.  Otis  believed,  had  deeply 
injured  him  by  misrepresenting  his  motives  for  his  political  course. 
He  believed  also,  and  probably  with  good  reason,  that  Robinson,  with 
other  Crown  officers  in  Boston,  had  endeavored  to  have  the  leading 
Patriots,  and  particularly  himself,  prosecuted  for  treason  and  sent  to 
England  for  trial.  .  .  .  The  quarrel  was  carried  into  the  papers  of 
the  day,  and  resulted  in  a  fight,  disgraceful  to  both  parties. 

«  Mr.  Otis,  it  seems,  went  to  the  coffee  house  by  appointment,  where 
he  met  Robinson,  who  began  the  assault  upon  him.     Others,  friends 
of  the  former,  joined  in  the  assault,  and  Otis  was  severely  handled, 
being  cut  in  the  head  and  otherwise  wounded.    .  .  .  Mr.  Otis  appears 
to  have  gone  to  the  Coffee  house  unattended  by  friends,  while  the 
other  party  was  well  provided  by  the  presence  of  several  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy.     A  young  man  named  John  Gridley  happened 
to  be  passing  the  coffee  house,  and,  being  a  friend  of  Otis,  he  went 
to  his  assistance,  but  he  was  roughly  handled,  and  soon  put  out  of  the 
house.     The  matter  was  carried  into  court,  where  it  was  kept  tor 
about  four  years."     S.  G.  Brake,  History  of  Boston,^.  770.    The  jury 
finally  brought  in  a  verdict  in  favor  of  Mr.  Otis  for  £2000  damages. 
Otis  never  fully  recovered  from  the  effects  of  this  assault. 
Robinson  was  a  son-in-law  of  James  Boutineau,  afterward  a  refu- 
gee, who  had  married  one  of  Peter  Faneuil's  sisters. 


160  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Mr.  Robinson,  and  torn  his  coat.  For  tliis  crime, 
he,  Mr.  Brown,  was  unjustly  charged  through  the 
town  with  having  attacked  Mr.  Otis  himself,  while 
engaged  with  Mr.  Robinson,  and  was,  therefore,  to 
be  treated  with  the  utmost  rigor.  In  order  to  this 
he  was  apprehended  on  the  6th  by  a  peace  officer 
and  carried  late  in  the  evening  before  two  justices, 
Messrs.  Dana  and  Pemberton,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  where 
a  multitude  assembled. 

I,  taking  a  walk  in  the  Town  House  that  evening, 
was  told  of  this  by  Mr.  Perkins,  and,  consulting  my 
feehngs  for  another's  distress  more  than  my  own 
safety,  went  directly  to  the  Hall  to  attend  the 
proceedings. 

Soon  as  the  multitude  perceived  me  among  them, 
they  attempted  repeatedly  to  thrust  me  out,  but 
were  prevented  by  Mr.  Mason,  one  of  the  select- 
men, caUing  out,  "  For  shame,  gentlemen,  do  not 
behave  so  rudely."  Then,  lending  me  his  hand, 
helped  me  over  the  door  into  the  selectmen's  seat. 
Before  I  got  down  from  the  seat  I  was  hiss'd.  I 
bowed.  I  was  hiss'd  again,  and  bowed  around  a 
second  time.  Then  a  small  clap  ensued.  CompH- 
ments  over,  I  sat  down.  The  justices  asked  me  up 
to  the  bench.  I  declined.  The  examination  of 
some  evidence  was  continued,  and,  being  finished, 
the  justices  thought  fit  to  bind  over  Mr.  Brown. 
He  lookt  about  for  bail.  No  one  offered  but  I. 
Here  I  desired  the  justices  to  take  notice  that  I  did 
not  mean  by  this  offer  to  vindicate  what  Mr.  Brown 
had  done,  but  only  to  stand  by  him  now  the  torrent 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         161 

was  against  him.  The  recognizance  taken,  the  jus- 
tices desired  the  people  to  disperse,  for  that  Mr. 
Brown  had  complied  with  the  law ;  but  the  crowd, 
intending  more  sport,  still  remained. 

As  I  was  pressing  out  next  to  Mr.  Dana,  my  wig 
was  pulled  off,  and  a  pate,  clean  shaved  by  time  ^ 
and  the  barber,  was  left  exposed.  This  was  thought 
a  signal  and  prelude  to  further  insult,  which  would 
probably  have  taken  place  but  for  hm-ting  the  cause. 
Going  along  in  this  plight,  surrounded  by  the  crowd, 
in  the  dark,  Lewis  Gray  took  hold  of  my  right  arm 
and  Mr.  WiUiam  Taylor  of  my  left,  and  supported 
me,  while  somebody  behind  kept  nibbling  at  my 
sides  and  endeavoring  to  trip  me ;  for  the  pleasure, 
as  may  be  supposed,  of  treading  the  reforming  jus- 
tice out  of  me  by  the  multitude.  Mr.  Deblois  threw 
himseK  in  my  rear,  and  suffered  not  a  httle  in  my 
defence.  Mr.  G.  Hooper  went  before,  and  my  wig, 
disheveled,  as  I  was  told,  was  borne  on  a  staff  be- 
hind. The  gentlemen,  my  friends  and  supporters, 
offer'd  to  house  me  near  the  Hall,  but  I  insisted  on 
going  home  in  the  present  trim,  and  was  by  them 
landed  in  safety,  Mr.  Gray  and  others  having  con- 
tinually thus  admonished  my  retinue  in  the  way, 
"  No  violence,  or  you  '11  hurt  the  cause." 

I  did  not  intend  to  trouble  even  you,  my  intimate 
friend,  with  this  minute  detail,  much  less  to  pubHsh 
what  I  thought  no  credit  to  the  town  ;  but  our 
Liberty  lads  have  such  a  rage  for  publication  that 
everything  must  go  to  the  press  and  be  seen  through 

^  Yet  he  was  only  fifty-six  years  old. 


162  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

their  distorted  medium,  even  though  it  should  in  the 
end  hurt  their  cause. 

To  provoke  me  to  this,  they  have  mentioned  in  a 
last  Monday's  paper  a  late  insult,  for  which,  you 
know,  honorable  satisfaction  has  been  demanded 
and  given,  with  a  spirit  and  generosity  which  none 
of  the  nameless  scandal-mongers  for  the  papers  of 
Edes  and  Bell,  and  Fleet,  are  possessed  of.    I  am,  &c. 

On  the  fifth  of  March,  1770,  after  much  provoca- 
tion on  both  sides,  came  the  outbreak  between  the 
soldiers  and  the  crowd,  known  in  history  as  the 
Boston  Massacre. 

To  Mrs.  Smith,  who  was  then  abroad,  —  for  this 
chapter  has  not  yet  overtaken  in  time  the  close  of 
the  previous  one,  —  her  brother  gave  a  long  and 
remarkably  accurate  account  of  the  occurrence. 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   ELIZABETH   SI^HTH. 

Brush-hill,  March  12*^  1770. 
Since  I  wrote  you  on  the  19th  of  last  Month  I 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  your  Letter  and  DuppHcate 
of  the  7th  Dec.  and  of  Bettzy's  Letters  accompany- 
ing them.  It  gives  us  great  pleasure,  you  may  be 
sure,  to  hear  your  health  is  so  much  better  than 
when  you  left  us,  and  that  was  at  a  good  time,  for 
it  would  have  given  you  pain  to  have  continued  in 
or  near  the  Turbulent  Town  of  Boston.  Had  it 
not  been  for  the  two  Regiments  there,  the  Mobbing 
would  have  been  greater  and  more  general  than  in 
the  year  1765.     The  Restraint  that  these  were  might 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         163 

be  a  principal  Cause  that  the  Soldiers  were  so  often 
insulted  and  abused,  and  to  heighten  that  abuse  the 
news  papers  bragged  how  they  were  conquered. 
Ill-humour  thus  worked  up  on  both  sides,  —  the  mob 
assembled  in  King  Street  this  day  se'ennight  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  Evening,  insulted  the  Sentry  on 
his  post  at  the  Custom  house  (Ap thorp's  house). 
Notice  of  this  was  sent  to  the  Main  Guard.  Preston, 
of  the  29,  the  Captain  of  the  Day,  came  with  a  party 
of  eight  men  to  the  Belief  of  the  Sentry.  The  Mob 
still  crowded  and  abused  them,  some  of  them  calling 
out  repeatedly,  "  Fire,  why  don't  you  fire,"  till  at 
length  five  or  six  Muskets  were  fired  singly  and  suc- 
cessively, which  killed  as  many  men  and  wounded 
several,  but  none  of  note  except  Mr.  Edward  Payne 
who  is  Hke  to  do  well.  This  you  may  be  sure  set 
the  People  in  a  great  fury  not  being  used  to  such 
skirmishes.  The  Lieut.  Gov'r  came  up  to  the 
Council  Chamber,  spoke  mildly  to  the  people  from 
the  window,  told  them  to  disperse  and  he  would  see 
Justice  done  on  the  Guilty.  He  sat  with  the  Coun- 
sellors and  some  of  the  Justices  till  three  o'clock 
next  morning,  sent  for  Col.  Dalrymple  and  Col. 
Carr,  had  the  former's  order  for  Captain  Preston, 
who  surrendered,  was  examined  and  committed  to 
Prison,  as  were  the  Soldiers  of  the  Party  that  fired. 
Five  or  six  witnesses  swear  that  Preston  bid  his  men 
fire.  Others  swear  that  he  did  not,  and  say  that  if  the 
fireing  had  been  by  order  it  would  not  have  been  by 
single  muskets.  Be  it  as  it  will,  there  will  be  Kttle 
Chance  for  him  and  his  Men  with  enraged,  preju- 


164  JAJVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

diced  Juries.  The  King's  Mercy  must  be  their  only 
hope.  At  this  Conference  ^  of  the  L.  Gov'r,  Coun- 
cil and  Colonels,  the  Gov'r  by  the  unanimous  advice 
of  the  Council  directed  the  Colonel  to  remove  the 
two  Kegiments  from  the  Town  to  the  Castle,  which 
was  agreed  to.  Mr.  Sam.  Adams  told  Col.  Dalrym- 
ple  in  pubhc  (when  he  offered  to  send  off  the  29th, 
which  had  given  the  offence,  and  reserve  the  14th) 
that  if  he  kept  either,  it  must  be  at  his  own  peril. 
Upon  this  the  several  posts  of  Sentrys  in  the  town 
were  called  in,  the  main  guard  given  up,  the  two 
Kegiments  confined  to  their  Barracks,  and  some  dis- 
positions made  for  removing  them  to  the  Castle, 
where  two  Companies  of  the  29th  were  actually  sent 
last  week,  and  the  Townsf  oiks  were  waiting  with  im- 
patience for  the  embarkation  of  all  the  rest.  They 
were  beginning  to  dread  that  their  Removal  would 
be  postponed  till  the  Colonel  heard  from  the  Gen- 
eral. I  shoidd  have  told  you  that  the  Council,  when 
they  advised  the  Gov'r  to  order  the  Regiments  away 
(for  it  seems  he  has  the  right  to  order  them  when 
there  is  not  an  Officer  superior  to  the  Colonel  in 
Command),  [said]  that  they,  the  Counsellors,  would 
be  responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  Town  if  the 
Troops  were  out.  But  the  Commissioners  would  not 
have  choosed  to  trust  to  such  security,  they  would 
have  gone  off  with  the  Regiments,  and  nobody  can 
blame  them,  for  every  falsehood  is  used  to  render 
them  odious  to  and  suspected  by  the  People.  They 
were  not  only  charged  by  Insinuation  with  the  mur- 
^  That  of  the  day  following  the  massacre  must  be  meant. 


/ 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONAKY  BOSTON"         165 

der  of  the  boy  who  was  killed  when  the  Mob  was  at 
Richardson's  ;  but  now  Andrews,  your  former  Car- 
penter, has  been  employed  to  examine  by  the  holes 
of  the  Balls  on  the  South  side  of  King  Street  and 
the  direction  of  them,  whence  it  must  have  proceeded, 
and  it  is  given  out  that  some  of  the  Shot  was  from 
the  upper  Windows  of  the  Custom*house  by  Green's 
Son,  hired  for  that  purpose.  .  .  . 

P.  S.  —  I  will  not  answer  for  the  Authenticity  of 
every  article  of  the  above,  for  in  my  short  Interviews 
with  the  best  Authorities  they  were  on  the  Reserve, 
and  did  not  think  it  became  me  to  be  inquisitive. 

Boston,  March  14th. 

Of  both  Regiments,  the  29  is  already  gone  to  the 
Castle,  the  14th  are  going.  Your  Barrack  is  clear, 
but  not  yet  given  up.  The  Com'rs  are  again  to  de- 
camp, and  affairs  are  in  great  Confusion  here  under 
the  thin  covering  of  an  outward  Calm.  Mr.  Comm'r 
Robinson,^  who  carries  this,  goes  home  to  represent 
all  these  things  in  their  proper  Hght. 

Your  old  Brother  intends  to  follow  your  advice  to 
live  well  and  cheerfully  and  as  quietly  as  the  Busi- 
ness of  his  Friends  will  permit  him.  Adieu. 

In  the  box  to  Col.  Harrison  are  the  news  papers  to 
this  day. 

Mr.  Murray  was  now  in  the  midst  of  things,  and 
deeply  concerned  for  the  safety  of  Captain  Preston. 
He  wrote  to  Hutchinson  expressing  his  fear  that  the 
people  would  do  some  injury  to  Preston,  and  received 

^  The  same  who  was  in  the  Otis  affray. 


166  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

in  reply  a  reassuring  note,  which  is  printed  in  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.^ 
He  also  sent  to  Colonel  Dabymple,  who  commanded 
one  of  the  regiments,  the  following  communication. 

JAMES  MURRAY   TO   COLONEL   DALRYMPLE. 

Milton,  August  27th,  1770. 

Sir,  —  I  am  just  now  honored  with  your  letter  of 
this  date,  and  at  your  Desire  readily  excuse  your  not 
sooner  acknowledging  the  Receipt  of  mine  of  the 
27th  of  last  month.  In  that  letter  I  took  the  Lib- 
erty to  suggest  that  after  much  pains  taken  to  pre- 
judice the  People  of  Boston  against  Captain  Preston 
there  was  too  much  room  to  suspect  he  would  pass 
his  time  but  badly,  at  and  after  his  trial ;  that  I  was 
well  convinced  of  his  Innocence,  Zealous  for  the 
peace  and  Credit  of  the  town,  and  should  be  sorry 
to  hear  of  any  violence  against  him ;  that  I  should 
be  ready,  as  a  Civil  Magistrate,  to  escort,  I  should 
have  said  to  be  escorted  by,  a  party  of  two  hundred 
men  of  your  Regiment  with  their  Officers  to  Town, 
there  to  remain  in  Smith's  Barrack  during  his  Trial 
and  to  the  Issue  of  it ;  that  a  Sentry  from  the  Top 
of  the  House  could  see  or  hear  a  Signal  from  the 
Goal;  that  no  mortal  knew  of  the  proposal  and  that 
it  did  not  seem  to  me  necessary  that  any  should 
know  it,  but  General  Gage  and  you.  Sir,  and  Capt. 
Preston  for  his  peace  of  mind.  I  have  recapitulated, 
because  you  say  that  you  sent  the  Letter  to  the  Gen- 
eral after  communicating  it  to  the  Lieut.  Governor.^ 
I  should  have  been  glad  indeed  when  you  saw  this 

1  Vol.  V.  of  the  Second  Series,  p.  3G1.  ^  Thomas  Hutchinson. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         167 

Step  necessary  of  showing  it  to  His  Hon'r,  that  you 
had  been  pleased  to  give  me  an  opportunity  of 
mending  my  letter,  in  that  Respect.  My  not  men- 
tioning His  Hon'r  proceeded  from  no  Disrespect  to 
him ;  but  Experience  had  convinced  me  that  such 
an  Offer  from  me  would  not  avail  with  him,  unless 
previously  recommended  by  the  General. 

In  this  day's  Letter  you  are  pleased  to  signify  that 
part  of  your  Orders  and  Instructions  are  "  to  be  aid- 
ing and  assisting  to  the  Civil  Magistrate  in  the  Exe- 
cution of  Laws  and  in  repressing  violences  whenever 
you  receive  a  Regular  Requisition  for  that  purpose." 
What  greater  Violences  in  any  state,  toUerably  civil- 
ized, can  be  committed  than  what  have  lately  been 
committed  in  Boston  ?  which  violences  I  do  in  my 
Conscience  beheve  will  be  crowned  with  the  Murder 
of  Captain  Preston,  if  there  is  no  miHtary  force  to 
support  a  Magistrate  and  the  Laws  for  his  protection. 
In  this  firm  belief  I  do  require  of  you  such  an  aid 
as  I  before  mentioned,  and  fear  not  we  shall  aU  be- 
have on  the  Service  so  as  to  obtain  the  Approbation 
of  God  and  all  good  men. 

This  requisition,  being  made  without  the  partici- 
pation or  even  privity  of  the  Lieut.  Governor,  can- 
not be  disagreeable  to  his  Honor,  as  he  will  not  be 
answerable  for  the  Consequences  should  they  prove 
unfortunate.  I  have  the  Honor  to  be  with  much 
Respect  Sir,  Your  most  obedient  Servant 

Mr.  Murray's  letter  was  undeniably  a  requisition 
upon  the  colonel  for  soldiers  to  form  a  guard,  but 
soldiers  were  in  such  disfavor  that  it  was  probably 


168  JAIVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

thought  prudent  to  let  the  town-meeting  provide 
for  a  guard,  which  it  did.  A  guard  was  appointed 
and  kept  watch  nightly  during  the  Preston  trial, 
the  civil  magistrates  by  turns  taking  their  share  of 
the  vigils. 

The  difficulties  of  Mr.  Murray's  friend,  John 
Mein,  are  a  matter  of  history ;  yet,  for  the  purpose 
of  illustrating  Mr.  Murray's  relation  to  passing 
events,  they  may  be  briefly  recounted  here.  Mr. 
Mein,  of  the  firm  of  Mein  &  Fleming,  and  pub- 
lisher in  1768-70  of  "  The  Chronicle,"  was  one  of 
the  leading  booksellers  in  Boston.  His  paper,  neu- 
tral at  first,  afterwards  took  up  vigorously  the  cause 
of  the  Tories.  On  the  28th  of  October,  1769,  as 
he  was  passing  up  King  Street  to  his  office,  he  was 
attacked  by  a  crowd  of  furious  young  men  and  boys 
and  forced  to  fly  for  protection  to  the  main  guard 
near  by.  So  insulting  and  violent  were  his  persecu- 
tors in  demanding  him  of  the  soldiers,  and  so  rapidly 
did  their  numbers  increase,  that  the  two  regiments 
were  ordered  to  arms.^     It  was  soon  after  this  ex- 

1  In  a  procession  celebrating  "  Pope's  Day,"  November  5,  in  this 
same  year,  Mr.  Mein's  effigy  was  carried  through  the  streets  to  Copp's 
Hill,  where  it  was  solemnly  burned.  At  the  same  time  upon  a  trans- 
parency borne  by  the  young  men  was  an  acrostic  which  ran:  — 

"  Jnsulting  wretch,  we  '11  him  expose, 
O'er  the  whole  world  his  deeds  disclose  ; 
Hell  now  gapes  wide  to  take  him  in, 
iVow  he  is  ripe,  O  lump  of  sin ! 
3fean  is  the  man,  M — n  is  his  name, 
JE'nough  he  's  spread  his  hellish  fame, 
Jnfernal  furies  hurl  his  soul 
^ine  million  times  from  Pole  to  Pole." 

S.  G.  Drake,  History  of  Boston, 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         169 

perience  that  Mr.  Mein  sailed  for  England,  as  Mr. 
Murray  explains.  In  a  letter  written  before  the 
massacre  he  says  to  his  sister  :  — 

"  I  send  in  a  separate  packet  what  news  papers  I 
have  saved  for  the  month  past.  Mr.  Mein,  who  will 
dehver  this,  will  compleat  the  Intelligence.  He  has 
lately  had  a  more  narrow  escape  with  his  life  from 
the  fury  of  some  of  our  Chief  mobbers  than  your 
old  Brother  had  with  his  quiet  Retenue.  He  goes 
home  in  hopes  to  make  their  mischievous  Intentions 
turn  out  to  his  Emolument,  and  indeed  it  would  not 
be  safe  for  him  to  continue  here  for  some  time,  they 
are  so  exasperated  at  a  late  publication  of  his." 

In  the  letter  of  March  12  he  adds,  upon  this  sub- 
ject :  — 

"Your  old  Brother  went  to  town  on  the  first 
Thursday  of  the  month,  according  to  the  printed 
advertisement  sent  you.  That  happened  to  be  the 
very  day  that  Mr.  Hancock  by  Letters  and  powers  he 
then  received  laid  an  attachment  on  Mr.  Mein's  book 
store  and  printing  ofBce.  I  dined  that  day  at  Mr. 
E.  G's,^  where  Mr.  Miller  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Mehi 
came  to  me.  I  went  to  the  House  and  had  a  meet- 
ing of  his  Friends,  who  after  examining  into  the 
state  of  his  affairs  found  themselves  quite  safe  in 
becoming  security  to  abide  by  the  Judgment  of  the 

Court.     This  Mr.  H refused  and  would  not  take 

off  his  attachment  and  could  not  be  compelled  to  do 
it,  but  matters  were  managed  so  with  the  Sheriff  as 
to  get  hhn  to  accept  of  a  pledge  for  the  value  of  Mr. 
1  Ezekiel  Goldthwaite's. 


170  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Mein's  Interest  attached  at  the  printing  office.  This 
set  the  press  a  going  again ^  much  to  the  Surprize 

and  Disappointment  of  Mr.  H and  his  party,  with 

whom  this  was  the  Capital  Object  in  this  Stroke 
of  his.  A  Method  has  been  since  hit  on  to  relieve 
the  books  also  by  a  tender  of  other  Goods.  I  should 
not  have  dwelt  so  long  on  this  last  Article,  but  to 
let  you  see  the  baseness  of  the  party  and  to  Account 
for  my  being  in  town  from  the  Thursday  to  the 
Monday,  the  night  of  the  Riot.  Mr.  Mein's  friends 
having  set  me  at  their  head  to  Manage  this  business, 
that  time  was  fully  employed  in  trying  to  surmount 
the  Difficulties  that  were  industriously  thrown  in  the 
way,  and,  not  being  concerned  in  trade,  they  thought 
me  the  least  liable  to  the  malice  of  the  Party. 

"  I  leave  to  others  to  tell  you  of  the  Mobbish  do- 
ings upon  those  they  call  Importers,  among  whom 
they  were  so  mean  as  to  include  your  poor  Miss 
Cumings. 

"  The  folly.  Rage  and  Madness  of  the  Party  have 
been  greatly  raised  by  the  late  Accounts  they  have 
had  that  Administration  is  to  give  way  to  them 
a  Second  time.  If  that  is  true,  they  will  presently 
have  work  enough  on  their  hands  in  America." 

"  The  trouble  which  you  have  kindly  and  volun- 
tarily taken  in  my  affairs,"  Mr.  Mein  wrote  to  Mr. 
Murray  in  February,  1772,  while  they  were  both 
abroad,  "  and  the  great  obligations  which  you  have 
conferred  upon  me,  I  entertain  an  inexpressible  idea 
of.     Indeed,  expression  is  always  lame  where   the 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         171 

grateful  feelings  of  the  heart  are  concerned."  A 
letter  written  in  1775  is  interesting  as  showing  Mr. 
Mein's  point  of  view. 

JOHN  MEm   TO   JAMES   MUKRAY. 

London,  January  ll'",  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  — ...  I  have  a  great  deal  to  say,  but 
this  is  not  the  opportunity.     Every  Body  here  who 
is  not  paid  by  the  Colonies  has  a  very  proper  sense 
of  the  present  Contest.     Those  who  find  their  Emol- 
ument in  deceiving  the  Colonies  will  continue  to  de- 
ceive them  as  long  as  their  Emolument  continues. 
Your  Province  is  considered  here  as  in  declared  re- 
beUion:   Outlawries,  Confiscations,  and  Executions 
are  looked  upon  to   be  the    certain  Consequences. 
The  Men  of  Property  who  are  the  Ringleaders  will 
be  the  only  objects  of   punishment;  the    deluded 
populace  are  already  universally  objects  of  Commis- 
eration :  and  all  the  depredations  committed  on  pro- 
perty must  be  raised  from  the  Estates  of  the  Opulent 
Rebels  ;  for  the  poor,  who  are  also  the  misguided, 
can  make   no    pecuniary  Compensation  ;   they  will 
also  be  exempted  from  personal  punishment,  as  they 
are  only  considered  as  mere  Instruments  in  the  hands 
of  their  deluders.     It  is  thought  here  to  be  a  very 
great  calamity  that  thousands  of   innocent  people 
should  be  involved  in  Misery  through  the  atrocious 
villany  of  a  few  most  abandoned  Men. 

The  American  abuse  against  administration  is 
clearly  in  the  opinion  of  the  Generality  here  only  a 
flimsy  cover  for  RebeUion.     The  Contest  is  not  be- 


172  JAIMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tween  Ministers  and  the  Colonies,  but  between  Par- 
liament and  the  Colonies ;  and  whichever  of  them 
conquers  will  be  the  Sovereign  Power.  The  Mer- 
chants were  under  a  necessity  of  petitioning  to  keep 
up  appearances  with  their  Correspondents  on  your 
side  the  Atlantic.  Their  wishes  for  Remittances 
militate  against  their  consciousness  of  their  Duty. 
But  they  are  far  from  being  insensible,  that  their 
property  will  be  only  nominal  in  the  Colonies,  if  the 
Rights  of  Parliament  are  not  vigorously  preserved 
and  supported.  But  I  have  done.  I  have  been  led 
further  than  I  intended.  Be  not  surprised  at  what- 
ever may  happen.  .  .  . 

In  Charles  Stewart  of  London,  who  was  a  connec- 
tion of  the  family,  Mr.  Murray  had  a  most  excellent 
friend.  It  was  he  who  at  a  later  date  attended  to 
the  procuring  of  Mr.  Murray's  salary  as  collector 
and  who  performed  manifold  business  offices.  After 
the  affair  of  the  fifth  of  March  he  had  written  to  his 
kinsman,  begging  him  to  hold  himself  aloof  from 
public  affairs.     Mr.  Murray  replied  as  follows  :  — 

JAMES   MURRAY  TO    CHARLES    STEWART. 

Milton,  Sept'  3^  1770. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Please  to  accept  of  my  hearty 
thanks  for  your  friendly  Letter  of  the  1"'  May.  The 
Caution  you  kindly  give,  I  should  be  ready  to  ob- 
serve, did  I  see  things  in  the  Light  you  see  them 
for  me  ;  but  as  you  are  not  on  the  Spot,  you  can- 
not imagine  what  good  the  Resolution  of  one  man 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         173 

might  do,  guided  by  temper  and  prudence  and  sup- 
ported as  it  would  be.  And  to  say  the  Truth  I 
should  have  more  pleasure  in  one  day  aiding  &  vin- 
dicating even  one  good  and  Innocent  Person  un- 
justly attacked  than  in  drawling  out  in  inglorious 
ease  a  number  of  these  years  such  as  I  may  expect. 
You  may  call  this  Quixotism  if  you  will.  Be  it  so. 
It  is  a  Spirit,  however,  that  our  Superiours  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic  seem  to  want,  else  they  would 
not  suffer  Government  and  the  friends  of  Govern- 
ment to  be  insulted  as  they  daily  are.  After  all  I 
must  own  that  Administration  passing  over  in 
Silence  &  with  contempt  the  American  combina- 
tions against  Importation  of  British  goods  has  had 
a  better  effect  than  would  a  Severe  law  to  check 
them.  These  they  are  now  heartly  sick  of,  &  the 
Trade  will  probably  be  quite  open  by  the  Spring. 

In  a  former  Letter  I  took  the  liberty  to  recom- 
mend it  to  you  to  supply  M'"  Mein  with  a  hun- 
dred pounds,  not  doubting  he  would  be  able  to 
reimburse  you,  if  he  lived  a  twelve  month.  Late 
Advices  from  him  tell  us  that  he  cannot  bring  his 
Creditors  to  agree  to  come  in  share  &  share,  so  it 
will  be  catch  that  catch  can,  &  the  court  and  Law- 
yers will  sweep  their  part.  In  this  State  of  things 
I  thought  it  incumbent  on  me  to  take  a  bill  of  par- 
cels for  a  number  of  Saleable  books  in  Sheets  to 
the  amount  of  that  Sum  to  secure  you,  if  you  have 
advanced  him  that  money.  If  you  have  not,  you 
may  if  you  please  Lodge  the  Sum  in  a  friend's  hand 
for  him  to  be  paid  when  these  books  shall  be  turnd 


174  JAJVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

into  Cash,  and  let  his  Receipt  appear  here  ;  if  you 
think  a  man  perhaps  too  resolute  and  Zealous  de- 
serves a  Subsistence  whose  fine  business  and  for- 
tunes have  fallen  a  Sacrifice  to  the  Rage  &  Malice 
of  faction. 

In  the  mean  time  the  skies  were  darkening  above 
Christian  Barnes's  head,  and  her  husband/  like  Mr. 
Meins,  claimed  Mr.  Murray's  sympathy.  On  March 
13,  1770,  Mrs.  Barnes  wrote  to  Mrs.  Smith  :  — 

"  The  vile  town  of  Marlboro  have  this  day  put 
up  a  notification  to  warn  the  inhabitants  to  Town 
Meeting  to  Vote  against  importation  of  English 
Goods.  It  does  not  give  us  much  uneasiness,  for 
as  a  Guilty  Conscience  needs  no  accuser  so  con- 
scious Innocence  fears  none." 

Later  she  continued  :  — 

^  "  Henry  Barnes  resided  in  the  east  village,  in  the  house  known  as 
the  Cogswell  House,  which  he  built  in  1763.  He  was  a  man  of  con- 
siderable property,  and  one  of  the  largest  taxpayers  in  the  town.  He 
left  Marlborough  early  in  1775,  and  repaired  to  Boston  to  take  shel- 
ter under  the  protection  of  the  King's  troops.  An  act  was  passed  in 
1778  forbidding  all  persons  who  had  left  the  State  and  gone  over  to 
the  enemy  returning  to  their  former  homes  ...  In  this  act  Henry 
Barnes  is  expressly  mentioned.  His  property  was  confiscated.  .  .  . 
He  was  in  England  with  his  family  in  1777,  and  died  in  London 
1808,  aged  84."  History  of  Marlborough,  by  Charles  Hudson,  p.  156. 
"  As  early  as  1770  the  people  of  the  town  condemned  Henry  Barnes 
as  an  importer  who  brought  goods  into  the  country  contrary  to  the 
agreement  of  the  patriotic  and  self-sacrificing  merchants  of  Bos- 
ton and  vicinity,  and  solemnly  agreed  that  they  would  not  trade 
with  him.  Subsequently,  when  in  1775  General  Gage  sent  his  spies 
to  Worcester  to  sketch  the  topography  of  the  country,  they  sought 
his  house  as  a  place  of  refuge,  where  they  supposed  themselves  per- 
fectly safe."     Tbid. 


A   TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONAKY  BOSTON         175 

MRS.    BARNES   TO   ELIZABETH   SMITH. 

June,  1770. 

Dear  Mad'm,  — It  is  long  since  I  have  dabbled 
in  politics,  and  sorry  I  am  to  resume  the  subject. 
.  .  .  Nor  would  I  now  trouble  you  with  it  but  that 
I  want  to  vent  myself,  and,  as  Mrs.  Barclay  says, 
"  To  whom  shall  I  complain  if  not  to  you  ?  " 

The  spirit  of  discord  and  confusion  which  has 
prevailed  with  so  much  violence  in  Boston  has  now 
begun  to  spread  itself  into  the  country.  These 
poor  deluded  people  with  whom  we  have  lived  so 
long  in  peace  and  harmony  have  been  influenced  by 
the  Sons  of  Rapm  to  take  every  method  to  distress 
us.  At  their  March  meeting  they  entered  into 
resolves  simular  to  those  you  have  often  seen  in  the 
Boston  newspapers.  At  their  next  meeting  they 
chose  four  inspectors,  —  men  of  the  most  vioulent 
disposition  of  any  in  the  town,  —  to  watch  those 
who  should  purchase  goods  at  the  store,  with  intent 
that  their  names  should  be  recorded  as  enimes  to 
their  country.  This  did  not  deter  those  from  com- 
ing who  had  not  voted  to  the  resolves.  These  were 
chiefly  young  people  who  were  not  qualified  to  vote 
in  their  town  meeting.  When  they  saw  their  mea- 
sures had  not  the  desired  effect,  and  that  our  cus- 
tom still  encreased,  they  fixed  a  paper  upon  the 
meeting  house,  impowering  and  adviseing  these  un- 
qualified voters  to  call  a  meeting  of  their  own  and 
enter  into  the  same  resolves  with  the  other.  This 
was  a  priviledg  they  had  never  enjoyed,  and,  fond 
of  their  new-gotten  power,  hastened  to  put  it  in 


176  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

execution,  summoned  a  meeting,  chose  a  moderator, 
and^  by  the  direction  of  those  who  sat  them  to 
work,  resolves  were  drawn  up,  but  not  yet  passed. 

While  all  this  was  in  agitation  there  was  great 
outrao;es  committed  and  insults  offered  to  the  im- 
porters  in  Boston,  so  that  some  of  them  have  been 
compelled  to  quit  the  town,  as  not  only  their  pro- 
perty but  their  lives  were  in  danger.  Nor  are  we 
wholly  free  from  apprehensions  of  this  Hke  treet- 
ment,  for  they  have  already  begun  to  commit  out- 
rages. The  first  thing  that  fell  a  sacrifice  to  their 
mallace  and  revenge  was  the  coach,  which  caused  so 
much  decention  between  us.  This  they  took  the 
cushings  out  of  and  put  them  in  the  brook,  and  the 
next  night  cut  the  carriage  to  pieces.  Not  long 
after  they  broke  the  windows  at  the  Pearl  Ash 
Works.  It  is  said  that  a  young  gentleman  who  has 
formilly  headed  the  mob  in  Boston  and  now  resides 
with  us  is  the  perpetrator  of  all  this  mischief,  but  I 
will  not  believe  it  until  I  have  further  profe. 

The  greatest  loss  we  have  as  yet  met  with  was  by 
a  mob  in  Boston,  who,  a  few  nights  ago,  attacked  a 
wagon-load  of  goods  which  belonged  to  us.  They 
abused  the  driver,  and  cut  a  bag  of  pepper,  letting 
it  all  into  the  street ;  then  gathered  it  up  in  their 
handkerchiefs  and  hatts,  and  carried  it  off.  The 
rest  of  the  load  they  ordered  back  into  the  publick 
store,  of  which  the  Well  Disposed  Commity  keeps 
the  key.  Mr.  Barnes  has  applied  to  the  Left.  Gov- 
ernor for  advice,  and  he  advised  him  to  put  in  a 
petition  to  the  general  court.      He  then  repaired 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         177 

to  Mr.   Murray  and  begged  his  assistance   in  the 
drawing  of  it  up.     He  complied  with  his  request, 
and  it  is  to  be  lade  before  the  House  next  week.  .  .  . 
The  10th  of  June  the  unqualified  voters  had  a 
meeting,  and  the  next  day  an  effigy  was  hung  upon 
a  hill  in  sight  of  the  House,  with  a  paper  pinned  to 
the  breast,  whereon  was  wrote,  "  Henry  Barnes,"  as 
infamous   importer.     This   hung   up   all  day,  and 
at  night  they  burnt  it.     A  few  nights  after  they 
stole   the   covering    from   the    wagon,    which   was 
tarred  to  secure  the  goods  from  the  weather,  and 
the  same  night  stole   a  man's  horse  from  a  neigh- 
boring   stable.      They    dressed   an   image   in   this 
wagon  covering,  tarred  the  horse,  saddle  and  bridle, 
placed  the  image  upon  his  back,  and  set  him  loose 
about  the  town,  with  an  infamous  paper  pinned  to 
the  breast,  which  was  summed  up  with  wishing  of 
us  all  in  hell.     But  still  finding  that  their  malace 
had  no  effect,  they  made  a  bold  push  and  dropped 
an  incendiary  letter.  ...  It  is  not  possible  for  me 
to  express  what  I  suffered  upon  the  perusal  of  this  let- 
ter.    I  could  not  recollect  any  one  person  that  we 
had  ever  injured  or  even  wished  ill  to,  nor  could  I 
imagine  such  villany  ever  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man.    Mrs.  Murray  and  Miss  Polly  had  been  paying 
us  a  vissit  of  a  few  days,  and  were  just  setting  off 
for  Brush  Hill  when  the  letter  was  found.     Mr. 
Barnes  detained  them  while  he  wrote  a  copy  of  it, 
and  sent  it  to   Governor  Hutchinson.     The  ladys 
had  not  been  gone  many  minutes  when  I  received 
a  letter  from  Miss  Cummings,  which  was  far  from 


178  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

being  a  cordial  to  my  drooping  spirits.  She  writes 
me  word  that  one  of  the  McMasters  had  been  carted 
out  of  town  at  noonday  in  a  most  ignominious  man- 
ner, and  that  the  other  two  brothers  had  fled  for  their 
lives.  That  the  news  arrived  by  Hall  had  revived 
the  spirit  of  the  other  party  to  such  a  degree  that 
they  had  everything  to  fear,  and  that  it  was  every- 
body's opinion  poor  Preston  would  be  hanged.  This 
is  the  of&cer  who  is  in  jail  for  the  unhappy  affair  on 
the  fifth  of  March. 

A  gentleman  arrived  from  Boston  in  the  evening 
and  told  us  that  Mr.  Hulton's  windows  had  been 
broke  and  the  family  had  fled  to  the  castle  for  pro- 
tection. You  may  judge  what  sleep  I  had  that 
night,  and,  indeed,  ever  since  we  have  sleept  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  can  hardly  be  caUed  rest.  It  is  the 
busmess  of  the  evening  to  see  the  firearmes  loaded, 
and  lights  properly  placed  in  the  store  and  house ; 
and  this  precaution  w^e  have  taken  ever  since  we 
received  the  letter.  .  .  . 

June  29.  Last  night  young  Nat  Coffin  came 
from  Boston  to  pay  us  a  vissit,  and  he  brings  this 
account :  That  a  trader  about  eleven  miles  above 
us,  one  Cutler,  was  bringing  out  a  load  of  goods, 
and  had  got  about  six  miles  out  of  town,  when  a 
party  from  Boston  persued  him  and  brought  him 
back  in  his  wagon.  ...  It  seems  he  had  purchased 
some  tea  in  Boston,  which  the  Commity  have  pro- 
hibited any  one  to  deal  in.  .  .  .  My  cousin  likewise 
informs  us  that  on  Monday  last  Mr.  Fleming  shut 
up  his  printing  office  and  fled  to  the  castle  for 
protection. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         179 

July  1st.  The  affair  of  Cutler  turned  out  in  hav- 
ing his  goods  seized  and  committed  to  the  publiek 
store,  because  he  had  purchased  them  of  Mr.  Lillie, 
an  importer.  I  look  upon  all  goods  seized  and  com- 
mited  to  that  store  as  much  forfeited  to  the  owner 
as  if  they  were  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  For  they 
beo-in  to  talk  of  selling  them  at  vendue^  and  distrib- 
uteing  the  money  to  the  poor.  This  will  make  the 
poor,  as  they  call  them,  very  assidious  in  seizing 
everything  that  comes  in  their  way,  and  will  likewise 
deter  people  from  purchasing  of  importers,  a  thing 
which  they  have  never  yet  been  able  to  bring  to 

pass. 

July  the  5.  ...  I  received  a  letter  this  morning 
from  Miss  Ame,  who  acquaints  me  that  Mrs.  Murray 
is  just  come  to  town  in  high  spirits  and  bespoke  a 
new  pair  of  stays  to  make  an  appearence  when  the 
troops  arrive,  which  she  says  she  is  every  hour  in 
expectation  off.  .  .  .  Mr.  Barnes  had  offered  all  his 
real  estate  to  sale.  I  hope  he  will  meet  with  a 
purchaser. 

Between  the  years  1770  and  1775  the  letters  con- 
tain Kttle  of  pubhc  interest.  Some  of  those  written 
during  the  interval  have  been  given  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  which  closed  with  the  marriage  of  Mrs. 
Smith  to  Mr.  Inman,  and  the  return  to  Massachu- 
setts of  Mrs.  Forbes.  To  take  up  the  thread  of  the 
narrative  from  that  point ;  Mrs.  Inman  went  to  pre- 
side over  Mr.  Inman's  establishment  in  Cambridge, 
a  mansion-house  having  so  many  farm  buildings, 


180  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYA^ST 

stables,  servants'  quarters,  etc.,  that  it  seemed  like  a 
little  settlement  in  itself,  standing  in  the  angle  of 
the  road  from  Phip's  farm  on  Lechmere's  Point, 
just  where  the  road  turned  to  the  right  to  run 
toward  the  college.  Mr.  Inman  kept  his  coach  and 
liveried  servants,  and  to  his  house  the  British  offi- 
cers often  went,  for  his  young  people  were  attrac- 
tive and  his  hospitahty  was  generous.  He  had  been 
a  Boston  merchant,  but  was  now  retired.  He  had 
also  acted  as  agent  for  Sir  Charles  Henry  Frank- 
land.  Stretching  away  from  the  mansion  house 
were  "  green  fields  and  fragrant  pine  woods,"  while 
a  willow-shaded  pond  and  lanes  blossoming  with 
thorn  and  locust  trees  made  the  estate  one  of  espe- 
cial beauty.^  Within  the  roomy,  low-ceilinged  house, 
with  its  immense  fireplaces,  spacious  cupboards, 
rambling  passages,  and  secret  closets,  Mrs.  Inman 
received  her  husband's  friends  and  her  own,  and 
maintained  the  old  mansion's  accustomed  state. 

Mr.  Murray  obtained,  some  time  after  returning 
from  the  London  visit  referred  to  in  the  last  chapter, 
the  appointment  of  inspector  of  the  port  of  Salem. 
As  his  letters  say  nothing  of  his  duties  in  connection 
with  the  post,  they  cannot  have  been  arduous.  On 
such  public  matters  as  the  throwing  overboard  of  the 
tea,  in  1773,  the  departure  of  Hutchinson  for  Eng- 
land, and  the  coming  of  Gage  to  Boston  in  1774,  he 
is  also  silent.  It  may  be  that  letters  were  written 
that  have  since  been  lost,  but  it  is  undoubtedly  true 
that  great  prudence  crept  into  his  correspondence. 
*  S.  A.  Drake,  Historic  Fields  and  Mansions  of  Middlesex. 


A  TORY  IN  EEVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         181 

He  would  rarely  do  more  than  refer  his  friends  to 
the  newspapers  of  the  day  for  any  public  occurrences, 
and  confined  himself  as  much  as  possible  to  his  own 
private  affairs.  Yet  events  were  hastening  toward 
a  crisis. 

In  February,  1775,  the  Barneses  were  plunged 
into  difficulties  by  an  unsought  visit  from  Captain 
Brown  and  Ensign  De  Berniere,  scouts  sent  out  by 
Gage,  in  preparation  for  the  momentous  19th  of 
April,  to  examine  the  country  over  which  he  expected 
to  lead  a  victorious  expedition,  which  should  sweep 
away  disloyalty  from  the  "  peasant "  ranks.  De 
Berniere's  account  is  graphic.  The  hungry  officers 
had  barely  seated  themselves  at  Mrs.  Barnes's  table 
when  they  were  obHged  to  fly  by  a  back  door  out 
again  into  the  stormy  night.  They  were  scarcely 
gone  when  thundering  knocks  at  the  front  of  the 
house  heralded  the  entrance  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety,  who  searched  the  rooms  and  warned  the  ter- 
rified family  that  the  walls  should  be  pulled  about 
their  heads  if  they  ever  harbored  Tories  again.  In 
a  letter,  written,  evidently,  after  De  Berniere's  visit, 
and  when  the  British  troops  were  known  to  be  on 
the  eve  of  marching  out  into  the  country,  Mrs. 
Inman  offered  Mrs.  Barnes  a  refuge  in  Cambridge. 

"  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Deblois's  account  of  the  treatment 
you  are  likely  to  meet  with,"  she  said,  "  has  taken 
up  my  attention  and  made  me  very  uneasy.  You 
know  I  am  no  coward,  but  I  would  not  put  myseM 
in  the  power  of  desperate  people.  The  Governor  I 
do  not  doubt  will  do  everything  in  his  power  to  pro- 


182  JAJMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tect,  but  he  cannot  prevent  fears.  Therefore,  I  beo* 
the  favor  of  you  to  fly  to  Cambridge,  where  I  shall 
be  happy  to  see  you.  A  few  weeks  will  answer, 
pray  indulge  me  in  this  request.  A  Regiment  going 
through  your  town  will  alarm  them,  I  think  they  will 
all  run  away ;  they  will  help  settle  the  Country  and 
learn  our  people  to  be  good  soldiers." 

Whether  or  not  Mrs.  Barnes  accepted  the  invita- 
tion at  that  time,  it  is  certain  that  she  was  in  Cam- 
bridge just  before  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  re- 
turned home  on  the  eventful  day  itself,  reaching 
Marlborough  in  safety,  though  the  entire  country- 
side was  in  motion  with  messeno;ers  and  militia. 

Not  a  word  of  comment  from  the  Murrays  on 
what  must  to  them  have  been  the  astoundino*  re- 

o 

suit  of  that  April  march  has  come  down  to  us. 
But,  indeed,  to  see  the  King's  troops  chased  hotly 
back  from  Concord,  and  seeking  refuge  in  Boston 
from  the  rebels,  may  well  have  struck  good  loyalists 
dumb. 

Immediately  after  the  19th  of  April,  that  is,  by 
the  22d,  Boston  was  shut  up  and  Cambridge  was  be- 
come the  camp  of  the  American  army.  The  British 
army  and  the  Tories  within  the  lines  and  the  patriots 
and  their  friends  without  were  separated  by  the 
guards  of  both  sides,  stationed  about  half  a  mile 
apart  on  Roxbury  Neck,  and  by  American  guards  in 
Charlestown.  No  one  could  go  in  or  out  without  a 
pass,  and  any  communication  was  subject  to  strict 
scrutiny.  In  the  town  were  Mr.  Inman,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Murray,  Mrs.  Forbes   and   her  children,  and 


A   TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         183 

Elizabeth  and  Annie  Murray.  Mary  Murray  had  re- 
turned to  England,  while  her  brother  John  was  in 
Providence.  Outside,  Mrs.  Inman,  with  only  John 
Inness  Clark  and  her  servants,  stood  by  the  Cam- 
bridge farm,  though  it  was  virtually  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Provincials.  She  had  many  friends 
among  the  patriots,  and  stood  favorably  in  the 
public  eye  as  a  woman  intent  on  minding  her  own 
business  and  attending  to  her  husband's  affairs  and 
property.  General  Miflin  knew  her  and  her  nieces 
personally,  and  she  also  had  some  acquaintance  with 
other  officers  on  the  American  side.^ 

On  the  very  day  that  Boston  was  closed  she  wrote 
to  her  friends  within  the  lines,  describing  her  situa- 
tion. 

ELIZABETH   INMAN   TO   HER   FRIENDS   IN   BOSTON. 

Cambridge,  22"^  April,  1775. 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  tell  my  dear  friends  that  I 
am  well  as  are  all  under  this  roof. 

1  Among  these  was  doubtless  to  be  numbered  Colonel  (afterwards 
General)  Knox.  His  wife,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Flucker, 
a  distinguished  Tory,  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Inman's  daugh- 
ter Susan.  In  spite  of  her  father's  politics  Lucy  Flucker  had  married 
the  young  rebel,  who,  at  that  time  (1774),  had  a  flourishing  bookstore 
opposite  Williams  Court  in  Cornhill,  a  fashionable  morning  resort  at 
that  time  for  the  British  ofdcers  and  the  Tory  ladies.  Harrison 
Gray  Otis  says  that  Miss  Lucy  "  was  distinguished  as  a  young  lady  of 
high  intellectual  endowments,  very  fond  of  books,  especially  of  the 
books  sold  by  Knox,  to  whose  shelves  she  had  frequent  recourse, 
and  on  whose  premises  was  kindled,  as  the  story  went,  '  the  guiltless 
flame '  which  was  destined  to  burn  on  the  hymeneal  altar."  The 
Fluckers  were  of  a  French  Huguenot  family  who  came  to  America 
from  England.     Life  of  Henry  Knox,  by  Noah  Brooks,  p.  12. 


184  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

You  know  how  fond  I  am  of  grandeur.  I  have 
acted  many  parts  in  Ufe,  but  never  imagined  I  should 
arrive  at  the  muckle  honor  of  being  a  General ;  that 
is  now  the  case.  I  have  a  guard  at  the  bottom  of 
the  Garden,  a  number  of  men  to  patrol  to  the  Marsh, 
and  round  the  farm,  with  a  body  guard  that  now 
covers  our  kitchen  parlor,  and  [now  at]  twelve 
o'clock  they  are  in  a  sweet  sleep,  while  Miss  Den- 
forth  and  I  are  in  the  middle  parlor  with  a  board 
nailed  across  the  door  to  protect  them  from  harm. 
The  kitchen  doors  are  also  nailed.  They  have  the 
closet  for  their  guns.  The  end  door  is  now  very 
useful.  Our  servants  we  put  to  bed  at  half  past 
eight.  The  women  and  children  have  all  left  Cam- 
bridge, so  we  are  thought  wonders.  You  know  I 
have  never  seen  troubles  at  the  distance  many  others 
have,  and  as  a  reward  the  Gods  have  granted  me  a 
Mentor  ^  and  a  Guardian  Angel  of  three  years  of  age. 
They  are  now  in  bed  together.    Pray  let  their  friends 

1  Judge  Danforth  was  often  affectionately  referred  to  by  Mrs. 
Inman  as  Mentor.  He  was  an  old  resident  of  Cambridge,  and 
had  served  the  town  and  the  province  all  his  life.  He  was  for 
thirty-six  years,  from  1739  to  1774,  member  of  the  Council  ;  in 
the  last  year  he  was  appointed  mandamus  councilor,  but  was  "  in- 
duced to  resign."  Among  other  posts  which  he  held  were  those  of 
judge  of  probate  and  judge  of  common  pleas.  When  the  Revo- 
lution began  he  passed  out  of  office,  but  though  he  was  well  under- 
stood to  be  a  royalist,  his  property  was  not  touched. 

He  had  two  sons,  Samuel,  an  eminent  physician  in  Boston,  after- 
ward president  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  Thomas, 
a  lawyer  in  Charlestown  until  the  Revolution,  when  he  fled  to  Eng- 
land. 

The  child  mentioned  in  the  letter  must  have  been  one  of  Judge 
Danforth's  grandchildren. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONAKY  BOSTON         185 

know  he  is  better  and  she  very  well.  Mentor  bids 
me  tell  you  that  we  have  nothing  to  fear  but  from 
the  troops  landing  near  us.  These  matters  you  '11 
know  more  of  than  we  do;  therefore  we  shall  wait 
tni  we  hear  from  you  again,  which  we  hope  will  be 
time  enough  to  make  a  safe  retreat.  There  is  not 
one  servant  will  stay  if  I  go.  Poor  Creatures,  they 
depend  on  me  for  protection,  and  I  do  not  chuse  to 
disappoint  them :  as  far  as  it  is  in  my  power  I  will 
protect  them. 

This  day  we  had  a  visit  of  an  officer  from  our 
headquarters  with  written  orders  to  our  guards  to 
attend  in  a  very  particular  manner  to  our  directions. 
He  said  we  were  the  happiest  folks  he  had  seen. 
To  convince  you  of  that  I  '11  tell  you  how  we  are 
employed.  Jack  ^  is  in  the  garden,  the  others  are 
planting  potatoes.  We  intend  to  make  fence  and 
plant  Corn  next  week.  To  show  you  the  goodness 
of  the  people,  they  say  we  may  have  what  provisions 
we  want.  Mentor  we  have  raised  above  us.  His 
Walks  are  in  the  upper  chambers. 

Boyd  was  here  to-day.  Mrs.  Barnes  is  well,  got 
home  safe  Wednesday.^ 

Mr.  Temple. 

Dear  Sir:  —  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the 
trouble  you  have  taken:  if  you  think  it  prudent 
you  '11  direct  this  to  Mr.  Inman,  if  not  let  him  know 
as  much  as  you  think  proper.     Half  an  hour  past 

1  John  Murray. 

2  Wednesday  was  the  19th  of  April. 


186  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

twelve  o'clock,  a  cloudy  morning.  All  well.  I  '11 
call  our  watch.  We  are  sleepy,  don't  think  us 
drunk.  We  keep  nothing  but  water  and  Spruce 
beer.     That  is  delivered  freely. 

Adieu  every  one  of  you. 
Saturday  morning,  6  o'clock.     We    have  had  a 
quiet  night  and  are  all  in  good  spirits. 

From  Mrs.  Barnes,  at  Marlborough,  at  this  trying 
juncture  came  appeals  for  help. 

MRS.   BARNES   TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

(Without  date,  probably  soon  after  April  22,  1775.) 

My  dear  Mrs.  Inman  was  ever  my  best  friend,  she 
appears  now  to  be  my  only  one.  It  was  surely  my 
good  angel  that  detained  you  in  Cambridge  to  com- 
fort and  console  me  under  the  heaviest  affliction  that 
I  ever  encountered.  Your  first  letter  was  as  a  cor- 
dial to  a  dying  person.  Your  second  gave  me  still 
greater  relief.  I  yesterday  sent  Circular  letters  to 
the  Selectmen  petitioning  them  to  meet  at  our  [store] 
to  consult  and  advise  me  what  method  I  should  take 
to  procure  Mr.  Barnes'  return  and  to  convince  them 
his  stay  in  Boston  was  not  intended.  They  came 
according  to  my  request.  I  read  them  Mr.  Barnes' 
letter  which  I  received  on  Thursday  night  by  the 
post,  wherein  he  laments  his  not  being  able  to  get 
home.  I  likewise  read  them  your  first  letter.  They 
appeared  satisfied  and  highly  pleased  with  your  con- 
duct. They  assured  me  I  need  be  under  no  appre- 
hension from  the  towns  people,  and  gave  it  as  their 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         187 

opinion  that  neither  my  person  nor  interest  should 
be  injured.  I  returned  them  many  thanks  for  their 
civihty,  but  had  I  one  line  from  General  Putnam  it 
would  be  a  surer  protection  for  me  than  anything 
in  their  power  to  offer.  .  .  . 

(No  date.) 

If  you  are  a  friend  of  Col.  Putnam  ^  I  wish  you 
could  influence  him  so  far  in  my  favor  that  he  would 
prevent  his  troops  from  molesting  me  on  their  return. 
I  have  shown  them  every  civility  in  my  power  on 
their  way  down  and  shall  continue  to  do  so.  I  thank 
you  from  my  heart  for  your  kind  invitation  and 
offer  of  protection,  but  no  one  knows  where  they  are 
safest  at  this  time.  I  have  placed  a  confidence  in 
the  people  of  this  town  by  returning  home,  and 
Mr.  Barnes  will  do  the  same  whenever  it  is  in  his 
power.  .  .  . 

Tuesday  morning,  April  [2]9th. 

It  is  now  a  week  since  I  had  a  line  from  my  dear 
Mrs.  Inman,  in  which  time  I  have  had  some  severe 
trials,  but  the  greatest  terror  I  was  ever  thrown  into 
was  on  Sunday  last.  A  man  came  up  to  the  gate 
and  loaded  his  musket,  and  before  I  could  determine 
which  way  to  run  he  entered  the  house  and  demanded 
a  dinner.  I  sent  him  the  best  I  had  upon  the  table. 
He  was  not  contented,  but  insisted  upon  bringing 

1  By  Colonel  Putnam  Mrs.  Barnes  probably  means  General  Put- 
nam's son,  Daniel,  who  seems  to  have  been  at  times  quartered  at  Mrs. 
Inman's  house,  though  the  letters  speak  oftener  of  Colonel  Sargent. 
General  Putnam's  occupancy  of  the  Inman  house  must  have  been 
delayed  until  after  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  when  Mrs.  Inman 
removed  to  Milton. 


188  JA]VIES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

in  his  gun  and  dining  with  me  ;  this  terrified  the 
young  folks,  and  they  ran  out  of  the  house.  I  went 
in  and  endeavored  to  pacify  him  by  every  method 
in  my  power,  but  I  found  it  was  to  no  purpose.  He 
still  continued  to  abuse  me,  and  said  when  he  had  eat 
his  dinner  he  should  want  a  horse  and  if  I  did  not 
let  him  have  one  he  would  blow  my  brains  out.  He 
pretended  to  have  an  order  from  the  General  for  one 
of  my  horses,  but  did  not  produce  it.  His  language 
was  so  dreadful  and  his  looks  so  frightful  that  I 
could  not  remain  in  the  house,  but  fled  to  the  store 
and  locked  myself  in.  He  followed  me  and  declared 
he  would  break  the  door  open.  Some  people  very 
luckily  passing  to  meeting  prevented  his  doing  any 
mischief  and  staid  by  me  until  he  was  out  of  sight, 
but  I  did  not  recover  from  my  fright  for  several 
days.  The  sound  of  drum  or  the  sight  of  a  gun  put 
me  into  such  a  tremor  that  I  could  not  command 
myself.  I  have  met  with  but  little  molestation  since 
this  afPair,  which  I  attribute  to  the  protection  sent 
me  by  Col.  Putnam  and  Col.  Whitcomb.  I  returned 
them  a  card  of  thanks  for  their  goodness  tho'  I  knew 
it  was  thro'  your  interest  I  obtained  this  favor.  .  .  . 
The  people  here  are  weary  at  his  absence  [Mr. 
Barnes's],  but  at  the  same  time  give  it  as  their  opin- 
ion that  he  could  not  pass  the  guards.  ...  I  do 
not  doubt  but  upon  a  proper  remonstrance  I  might 
procure  a  pass  for  him  through  the  Camp  from  our 
two  good  Colonels.  ...  I  know  he  must  be  very 
unhappy  in  Boston.  It  was  never  his  intention  to 
quit  his  family.  .  .  . 


A  TOKY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         189 

In  her  plucky  defense  of  the  Cambridge  farm  Mrs. 
Inman  seems  to  have  been  left  quite  alone  and  almost 
without  advice.  Her  husband's  letters,  even,  were 
uncertain  and  weak.  The  following,  from  him,  was 
probably  written  soon  after  the  closing  of  the  town. 

RALPH   INTMAN   TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Saturday  noou,  1775. 

My  dear  Mrs.  Inman.  —  I  have  sent  this  to  my 
friend  Mr.  Thomas  Eussell  to  get  conveyed  to  you, 
who  will  forward  to  me  any  of  your  Letters  or  what 
you  send  down,  and  if  you  Incline  to  come  yourself 
I  dont  doubt  he  will  conduct  you  safe.  There  is 
no  danger  of  sending  Jack  from  Cambridge,  but 
none  must  come  over  that  Expects  to  return,  as 
there  is  no  Passing  any  way  from  Boston,  and  I  am 
of  Opinion  that  you  are  Safe  at  Cambridge  as  in 
Boston.^  But  I  know  you  are  more  capable  of 
Judging  for  your  Self  than  any  Directions  I  can 
give.  The  young  Ladys  are  well  and  in  good  Spirits. 
George  ^  is  got  almost  well  tho'  not  abroad  yet.  Mrs. 
Kowe  and  Mrs.  Linzee  ^  are  also  well. 
I  am  Dear  Mrs.  Inman 

Yours 

1  «  A  part  of  the  agreement  with  Gage  was  that  the  country  Tories 
should  be  allowed  to  move  into  Boston."  Winsor,  Nar.  Sf  Crit.  Hist. 
Warren  tried  to  get  permission  for  patriots  to  come  out,  but  they 
were  kept  in  as  hostages. 

2  Probably  George  Inman,  Mr.  Inman's  son. 

8  Mrs.  Linzee,  wife  of  Captain  Linzee,  who  commanded  the  Brit- 
ish man-of-war  Falcon,  was  Mr.  Inman's  daughter,  Susannah.  S.  A. 
Drake,  in  his  Historic  Fields  and  Mansions  of  Middlesex,  p.  187, 


190  JAJVIES  MURKAY,  LOYALIST 

Even  to  obtain  permission  for  a  hasty  interview 
at  the  lines,  in  the  presence  of  witnesses,  was  often 
difficult,  and,  as  Mrs.  Inman  says  in  the  next  letter, 
it  did  not  do  to  write  much  when  sending  notes  back 
and  forth.  It  is  often  guesswork  to  try  to  extract 
from  the  guarded  expressions  used  in  the  letters  that 
did  pass  the  meaning  of  the  writers,  yet  some  inci- 
dents may  be  gleaned,  and  the  general  f  eehng  of  the 
situation  is  strongly  indicated  by  the  fragmentary, 
interrupted  correspondence.  Sometimes  Mrs.  In- 
man's  patience  gave  out,  as  she  shows  in  the  ensu- 
ing:  — 

ELIZABETH    INMAN   TO   KALPH   INMAN. 

Boston,  Thursday,  April  27th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  — ■  We  have  heard  by  G.  Putnam  that 
Boston  was  to  be  open'd  and  all  that  chose  to  come 
out  had  leave  off,  so  I  hope  you  will  make  us  a  visit. 
Your  advice  is  much  wanted.  If  things  are  to  con- 
tinue in  this  situation  a  week  or  months,  your  Farm 
must  be  put  into  other  hands.  It  will  not  suit  me 
to  stay  here  after  Judge  Denf orth  moves,  and  he  is 
to  have  a  pass  to-day  to  go  where  and  when  he 
pleases. 

If  the  report  should  be  false  about  Boston  being 
open,  I  should  be  glad  to  see  you  at  Mr.  Russell's. 
No  doubt  you  can  have  leave  to  come  over  the 
ferry. 

says :  "  John  Linzee  met  with  Sukey  Inman  ...  in  some  Royalist 
coterie,  —  and  like  as  not  at  the  house  of  her  bosom  friend,  Lucy 
Flucker." 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         191 

I  send  this  by  a  boy  who  can  mform  you  very 
particularly  how  we  have  lived  and  managed  since 
you  left  us.     It  will  not  do  to  write  much.     Adieu. 

Boyd  was  here  all  night.  Mrs.  Barnes  is  very 
well  and  writes  in  fine  spirits.  Every  thing  there  goes 
on  finely.  She  wants  rum  and  sugar  sadly.  Cap- 
tain Ward  has  gone  up,  and  has  orders  from  head 
quarters  to  protect  her. 

In  a  few  days,  however,  she  had  recovered  her 
equanimity  and  was  prepared  to  add  the  Brush  HiU 
farm  to  her  cares,  not  doubting  that  she  could  se- 
cure protection  for  that  also.  The  stress  of  the 
time  is  felt  in  every  fine  of  her  letters,  even  when 
she  pauses  to  note  her  blossoming  thorn. 

ELIZABETH    INMAN   TO   EALPH   INMAN. 

Cambridge,  Sunday,  April  30th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  It  has  ever  given  me  pleasure  to 
study  your  happiness  &  to  do  everything  that  I 
thought  was  for  yoiu*  interest.  I  have  try'd  this 
week  past  to  see  and  consult  with  you  what  you 
thought  most  proper  to  be  done,  but  all  in  vain. 
This  morning  I  rose  at  5  o'clock,  sent  G.  Speakman 
for  a  Pass  to  go  and  return  before  dinner.  He 
Brought  me  the  inclosed.  By  it  my  jaunt  was 
stop'd.  What  to  do  I  know  not.  This  place  will 
not  do  for  me  to  make  a  home  of  for  reasons  Doc- 
tor Danf orth  ^  will  give  you.  Complaining  is  not  a 
failing  of  mine  you  well  know.     If  agreeable  to  you 

^  Son  of  the  judge. 


192  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

do  advise  with  Mr.  Murray  and  Dolly.  If  he  will 
consent  to  let  her  go  with  me  to  Brush-hill  with  her 
children,  I  can  visit  this  place  as  often  as  I  please 
and  see  that  everything  is  done  properly  and  take 
your  and  his  directions  in  every  respect.  Dolly  need 
not  be  afraid.  I'll  have  a  proper  protection  for 
Brush-hill,  her  &  hers.  I  do  not  doubt  you  and 
my  Brother  will  protect  Mrs.  Hooper  and  the  young 
Ladys.  No  pass  to  carry  hay  in.  If  Dolly  comes 
out,  I  shall  want  Loaf  and  Brown  sugar  &c.  Ask 
the  Col.  to  answer  the  Letter  I  sent  him.  Talk  to 
the  Doctor  about  horses  and  carriages.  Job  is  in 
want  of  20  or  30  pounds  0.  T.  Betty  is  my  Banker, 
any  stores  that  are  wanted  may  go  to  Brush-hill,  I 
can  have  them  from  there.  Please  send  out  Jack's 
Clothes.  He  is  obhged  to  wear  a  broad  Cloth  coat 
to  work  in.  Did  you  get  the  handkerchiefs  and 
two  caps  I  sent  by  the  white  boy  ?  I  send  a  night 
shirt  by  the  Doctor.  Pray  let  Anny  have  your  linen 
washed  often  till  I  can  send  more.  .  .  . 

Monday  morn. 

Pray  Anne  to  make  me  a  frame  for  a  cap  with 
wire  and  catgut.  I  'U  put  the  muslin  on  it  myself. 
If  she  does  not  know  what  I  mean,  Betzy  does. 

Our  thorn  tree  tells  me  the  day  of  the  month. 
How  diffrent  to  what  the  last  was,  and  how  diffrent 
its  appearance  to  the  noise  I  hear  from  the  other 
room.  I  hope  it  is  all  for  the  best  and  matters 
will  be  settled  soon.  Pray  Mrs.  Rowe  to  kill  her 
calf,  I  will  not  rob  her  of  it  these  times.     Ask  Doc- 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         193 

tor  Danforth  what  news  from  Mrs.  Barnes?  If 
you  have  tap'd  the  rmn,  please  to  have  it  drawn  off 
or  filled  up  again.  It  will  waste  very  fast  if  you 
do  not. 

Tuesday.  —  I  this  moment  received  yours  by  cry- 
ing Molly.  The  Doctor  cannot  go,  as  he  waits  on 
his  Father  to  Chelsy.  At  the  lines,  I  '11  meet  you 
to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock.  Would  be  glad  to  see 
our  good  Col.  with  you.  Do  not  be  uneasy  about 
us,  we  laugh  one  half  the  day  and  Listen  the  other. 

Adieu. 

The  exact  details  of  the  "  affair "  that  the  next 
communication  alludes  to  are  not  positively  known. 
The  letters  indicate  that  some  of  her  servants  aroused 
suspicion  against  her  good  faith,  and  that  a  party 
of  soldiers  came  to  arrest  her.  She  was  able,  if  this 
surmise  is  correct,  to  summon  to  her  aid  those  who 
had  authority  to  interfere,  and  was  left  unmolested. 

ELIZABETH   INMAN    TO   RALPH   INMAN. 

[Cambriixje,  May  6, 1775.] 

Dear  Sir, —  I  have  looked  over  your  notes  very 
carefully,  and  in  every  one  of  them  I  discover  that 
you  would  rather  I  could  stay  in  the  Country  than 
move  to  town.  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  know  that 
is  your  opinion,  as  an  affair  happened  the  day  after 
I  saw  you  that  put  it  out  of  my  power  to  stir  from 
this.  The  affair  I  fear  is  too  serious  for  me  to 
write.  I  '11  send  you  a  letter  Betsy  wrote  to  Mrs. 
Barnes.     I  have   often  told   you  Job   was   not  a 


194  JAIVIES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

proper  person  to  be  in  your  family  after  his  beha- 
vior last  summer.  No  doubt  you  '11  be  convinced  of 
it  now.  The  way  that  I  had  settled  matters  the 
morning  I  saw  you  was  only  to  give  them  the  use 
of  the  kitchen,  the  rooms  over  it,  with  Miss  Sally's 
room.  Now  Caty  can  tell  you  how  we  manage.  I 
beg  you  '11  insist  on  her  coming  out  of  Town  again. 
She  is  all  the  security  I  have  for  a  safe  retreat.  Mr. 
Sargent  is  one  of  the  best  men  you  can  imagine, 
but  his  business  may  hurry  him  into  duty  in  a  mo- 
ment. Then  what  will  become  of  us  God  only 
knows. 

Jack  Clark  has  been  to  see  me,  and  offered  to 
send  Providence  wagons  to  move  us  stock  and  block 
to  a  place  of  safety,  but  I  had  given  my  word.  By 
that  I  must  abide. 

Your  servants  and  intrest  I  will  protect  as  far  as 
it  is  in  my  power.  These  affairs  must  be  entirely 
your  own,  as  there  is  not  a  word  said  in  Boston  but 
what  returns  here.  My  letters  to  you  have  been 
misrepresented. 

I  wish  your  friends  had  consented  to  your  meet- 
ing me  at  Mr.  Russells,  as  I  earnestly  desired;  if 
you  had,  many,  if  not  all  these  difficultys  might 
have  been  prevented. 

Mrs.  Forbes  and  her  children  joined  Mrs.  Inman 
in  Cambridge,  in  this  month.  May.  At  that  time 
rumors  as  to  what  Burgoyne,  Clinton,  and  Howe 
would  do  when  they  arrived  in  Boston  were  rife. 
An  attack  on  the  army  at  Cambridge  was  not  un- 


A   TORY  IN"  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         195 

reasonably  expected  of  the  generals,  who  required 
"  elbow  room."  Mr.  Murray  was  alarmed  for  the 
safety  of  the  Cambridge  household,  and  begged  his 
sister  to  leave  all  and  join  him  in  the  town. 

JAMES   MUEEAY  TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Boston,  May  17, 1775. 

Dear  Sister,  —  As  I  do  not  expect  another 
opportunity  than  this  of  speaking  my  mind  to  you 
while  you  remain  in  the  Country,  I  must  now  tell 
you  that  you  cannot  with  any  regard  to  your  own 
safety  or  our  peace  continue  out  much  longer.  The 
whole  re-enforcement  expected  will  be  here  in  all  this 
month  at  furthest.  Cambridge  will  be  the  first 
object,  and  in  no  part  round  the  Town  will  the  Tory 
houses  be  spared  by  the  Natives,  whether  they  be 
Conquerors  or  Conquered.  Elated  pride  or  despair- 
ing rage  will  operate  to  the  destruction  of  all  our 
property  who  take  sanctuary  in  the  Town,  and  par- 
ticularly of  such  who  determine  to  carry  arms  in 
defence  of  the  Town.  In  this  view  your  second 
scheme  of  a  retreat  for  yourself  or  Dolly  at  Brush- 
hill  seems  improper,  and  sending  off  Crane  in  a  pet, 
however  necessary  it  might  be  at  another  time,  will 
tend  to  set  his  Liberty  Connections  against  the  farm 
with  greater  Violence. 

As  to  provisions  here,  which  they  tell  me  you  are 
in  pain  about,  there  will  be  no  want ;  plenty  there  is 
of  flour,  salt  pork,  Indian  Corn  and  fish. 

Inclosed  is  a  copy  of  what  I  wrote  to  Dolly  by 
Crane.     He  may  justly  think  it  hard  to  dismiss  him 


196  JA]VIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

without  discharging  his  last  year's  wages ;  and  that, 
if  I  could,  I  do  not  choose  to  do  till  I  see  some 
account  of  what  has  been  in  his  charge.  By- 
some  management  among  them,  my  farm  account 
book  wherein  his  and  Badcock's  account  was  enter'd 
which  was  in  my  Closet  is  not  to  be  found.  If 
Badcock  has  it  not  in  keeping,  it  is  of  no  use  to 
those  who  took  the  other  goods. 

We  shall  take  frequent  opportunities  of  sending 
the  boy  Lewis  over  the  ferry  with  open  Letters. 
There  is  some  difficulty  indeed  of  getting  a  pass  for 
his  Return,  but  that  will  be  overcome. 

By  the  next  day,  however,  Mrs.  Inman  had  con- 
vinced both  her  brother  and  her  husband  that  Bos- 
ton was  not  her  best  refuge.  Mr.  Murray's  letter 
of  May  18  is  prompt  and  decisive.  Mr.  Inman's, 
of  the  morning  after,  is  wavering  and  astonishingly 
vague  as  to  local  geography. 

JAMES   MURKAY   TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Boston,  Thursday,  May  18,  1775. 

Dear  Sister,  —  In  answer  to  your  Letter  of  this 
day,  proposing  for  the  Quiet  of  your  Friends  here 
several  places  of  Retreat,  upon  Considering  all  of 
them.  Brush-hill  seems  the  best,  tacking  the  Stough- 
ton  house  to  it.  I  mean,  to  have  a  bed  ready  there 
and  some  few  necessaries  that  will  serve  you  both 
for  an  airing  at  times  and  a  remoter  Retreat  upon 
Emergency.  You  may  have,  when  you  will,  every- 
thing from  town  that  is  allowed  to  anybody  else, 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         197 

and  may  be  permitted,  I  suppose,  to  carry  your  own 
Stores  thither.  The  Mode  of  Communication  with 
us  must  be,  either  by  sending  a  boy  (not  Badcock 
or  Crane  or  anybody  else  that  has  been  in  Arms) 
with  or  without  a  Team  &  a  letter  to  me,  to  be  at 
the  Lines  before  12  o' Clock  at  noon,  directed  to  the 
care  of  Capt.  Bowen  or  Mr.  Benjamin  Davis,  on  daily 
Service  there,  who  come  into  dinner  at  that  hour  and 
will  deliver  the  Letter  to  me  at  the  Custom  House ; 
or  on  certain  days  I  may  have  a  boy  at  the  Lines  in 
the  forenoon,  to  bring  me  any  open  Letter  that  shall 
come.  Another  advantage  of  Brush-hill,  you  may 
carry  both  Mr.  Inman's  stock  and  mine  there  and 
dispose  of  them  between  the  two  farms,  or  probably 
Seth  Sumner,  who  has  hired  Trot's  pasture  this 
year,  will  be  glad  to  have  his  bargain  taken  off  his 
hands  for  the  Season.  Dolly  and  her  Children  will 
be  your  attendants  there.  My  Love  to  them  and 
Miss  Goldthwait  and  Compliments  to  your  kind  Pro- 
tector, Colonel  Sargent. 

RALPH  INMAN   TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Boston,  Friday  morning  [May  19],  1775. 

Dear  Madam,  —  Your  memorandum  I  have  read 
carefully  over,  and  am  of  opinion  with  that  worthy 
gentlemen  that  the  women  and  children  that  do  not 
like  to  be  confined  in  a  Town  are  to  secure  a  safe 
retreat  in  time  of  danger.  Your  Brother  has  given 
his  opinion.  Mine  is  for  Limester,^  but  would 
have  you  follow  your  own  inclinations  and  you  '11 

*  Leominster. 


198  JAMES  MUKRAY,  LOYALIST 

please  me,  only  let  me  know  where  you  go  to,  that 
I  may  make  connections  to  get  you  supplied  with 
the  necessarys  you  may  want  for  your  subsistence.  I 
have  no  other  conveyance  than  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  by 
whom  can  send  a  line  every  day,  an  open  letter  to  be 
at  Mr.  Gary's  about  the  hour  you  mentioned.  I  am 
not  able  to  give  you  any  advice,  for  if  you  cannot 
be  benefited  by  the  Farm  it  will  not  be  worth  while 
to  be  at  any  more  expense  about  it.  Let  it  take  its 
chance  with  the  rest ;  the  delicasys  of  its  produce 
will  be  worth  the  attention  of  some  care  to  those 
that  reaps  the  fruits  of  it  so  as  not  to  destroy  it. 
Could  not  you  send  me  one  load  of  the  most  unneces- 
sary articles,  .  .  .  and  give  a  day  or  twos  notice, 
that  a  permitt  may  be  got.  The  Ladies  are  well 
and  got  pretty  well  composed.     Adieu. 

Lemenstone  I  take  to  be  in  this  Province  about 
20  miles  wide  of  Mulborough,  but  if  it  should  be 
in  the  other  Provinces  I  cannot  give  my  opinion ; 
you  must  act  your  own  judgement. 

Yet  another  scheme  formed  itseK  in  Mrs.  Inman's 
brain.  Mrs.  Forbes  was  taking  upon  her  shoulders 
the  care  of  the  Brush  Hill  farm,  that  it  might  at 
least  yield  them  food  and  some  support.  But  Mrs. 
Inman  could  not  bear  with  equanimity  the  thought 
of  a  continued  separation.  Had  the  plan  of  a  re- 
moval to  St.  Johns,  spoken  of  in  the  two  letters 
given  below,  been  carried  out,  Mr.  Murray  would 
have  had  his  daughters  and  sister  with  him  for  the 
remainder  of  his  life. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         199 

DOROTHY   FORBES   TO   JAMES   MURRAY. 

May  20th,  1775. 

My  Dear  Papa,  —  I  was  at  Brush-hill  yesterday, 
found  the  Account  Book  you  mentioned  and  send 
it  by  Mrs.  Head.  My  Aunt  thinks  if  she  goes  to 
B-hill  it  will  not.  do  for  Crane  and  her  Servants  to 
be  there  together,  and  indeed  there  will  not  be  room 
for  them  all.  She  has  told  Crane  he  must  get  a 
place,  and  that  [she]  will  employ  him  whenever  there 
is  any  work  for  him.  Please  to  send  his  Account 
and  let  us  know  what  agreement  you  have  made 
with  Badcock  and  if  it  would  not  be  best  to  let  him 
plant  potatoes  and  corn  by  the  halves.  The  hay, 
should  we  stay,  we  can  take  care  of  ourselves.  My 
Aunt's  sheep  are  gone  to  the  farm,  and  we  propose 
having  them  and  yours  washed  and  shear'd  next 
week ;  after  which  they  are  to  be  sent  to  Stoughton, 
and  Fesendon  is  to  go  up  and  see  that  there  is  good 
pasture  for  them.  I  am  very  anxious  to  know  how 
you  keep  your  health.  I  fear  salt  provision  will 
not  agree  with  you.  Wish  it  was  in  my  power  to 
send  you  some  fresh,  but  find  it  will  not  do  to  at- 
tempt it. 

Mrs.  Head  returns  on  Tuesday  —  pray  write  by 
her.  Be  very  particular  about  yourself,  as  perhaps 
it  may  be  the  last  time  we  can  hear  from  you.  Our 
friendly  Colonel  ^  wishes  much  Mr.  Inman  and  you 
were  with  us  to  enjoy  the  Country  air  —  says  he 
would  do  everything  in  his  power  to  make  you 
happy,  but  that 's  a  pleasure  we  cannot   expect  to 

1  Colonel  Sargent. 


200  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

enjoy  at  present.  Please  to  send  us  by  Mrs.  Head 
some  paper,  pens,  sealing  wax,  and  the  key  of  your 
little  trunk. 

The  Boys  are  in  good  health  and  spirits  —  are 
constantly  out  with  the  men.  Please  make  my 
duty,  love  and  compliments  where  due,  and  believe 
me  to  be 

Your  dutiful  &  affectionate  Daughter, 

D.  Forbes. 

P.  S.  —  I  shall  go  next  week  to  take  an  account 
of  the  tools  and  grain  on  the  farm. 

My  Aunt  has  just  been  writing  a  new  plan  to 
Mr.  Inman,  which,  if  you  and  he  approve  of,  we 
think  we  could  have  it  more  in  our  power  to  assist 
you,  and  she  says  it  signifies  nothing  Hving  unless 
we  can  find  some  way  to  support  you  in  a  more 
agreeable  manner  than  you  are  at  present.  You 
may  imagine  that  affairs  will  be  shortly  settled,  but 
it  appears  very  different  to  us  here ;  and  we  think, 
were  we  to  go  to  St.  Johns,  we  might  have  it  in  our 
power  to  see  you  more  frequently.  However  you 
know  best.  Should  you  approve,  would  it  not  be 
Best  to  Leave  the  farm  in  the  same  hands  Mr.  Inman 
does  his? 

My  Aunt  begs  Mr.  Inman  and  you  would  con- 
sider of  this  and  send  her  an  answer  by  Mrs.  Head, 
as  she  is  anxious  to  know  what  she  is  to  do. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         201 

ELIZABETH    INMAN   TO   RALPH   INMAN. 

Cambridge,  May  20th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  thought  of  many  different 
plans.  To  be  settled  in  a  family  way  again  would 
be  better  than  this.  Perhaps  you  will  imagine  all 
will  be  peace  and  quietness  soon  &  we  may  settle  at 
our  own  home.  I  know  too  much  to  think  so,  and  will 
give  you  my  opinion  and  beg  the  favor  of  you  to 
think  seriously  of  it.  It  is  to  take  the  land  that 
Mr.  Rowe  has  at  St.  Johns  or  any  ones  that  you 
can  buy  or  hire  there.  I  can  move  bag  and  bag- 
gage and  meet  you  at  any  port  you  chuse  to  sail 
from.  From  there  we  could  send  off  what  stock, 
where  and  when  we  pleased  and  have  the  necessa- 
ries of  life.  Job  ^  has  rendered  this  place  useless  to 
you  and  very  disagreeable  for  any  of  your  family  to 
live  at.  It  will  take  much  more  than  the  profits  of 
it  to  keep  the  people  tolerably  civil,  and  when  tax- 
ing comes  in  fashion  it  will  take  it  root  and  branch 
unless  you  can  leave  it  in  the  hands  of  some  person 
that  is  not  suspected  as  you  now  are.  I  think  if 
you  was  to  leave  Mr.  Fesenden,  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, Titus,  Bill,  Jack  Marlebro'  to  take  the  hay 
and  all  the  crop  of  the  ground  under  the  direction 
of  Jack  Clark,  he  would  sell  or  export  it  to  you.  If 
you  like  the  Island  Mr.  Henshaw  or  the  one  that 
Mr.  Lloyd  lived  on  better  than  anything  I  have  pro- 
posed, I  beg  you  will  do  as  you  please.  You  very 
wisely  say  it  is  terrible  to  live  in  Boston  with  so 
large  a  family  in  these  times  when  they  can  be  sup- 
1  Mr.  Inman's  negro  man. 


202  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

ported  with  little  more  than  the  stock  and  produce 
of  the  farm,  which  stock  and  produce  they  must  en- 
tirely lose  if  some  method  is  not  taken.  There  is 
no  help  for  your  horses  being  pressed.  I  wish  you 
would  say  what  must  be  done  with  them. 

Mrs.  Head  who  is  the  bearer  of  this  will  return 
here  on  Monday  or  Tuesday.  I  earnestly  entreat 
you  to  consider  what  is  to  be  done,  as  there  is  no 
time  to  lose.  By  your  letter  I  shall  be  determined 
and  act  immediately  upon  it. 

My  compliments  to  Mr.  Barnes.  Tell  him  it  is 
not  in  my  power  to  see  or  hear  from  Mrs.  Barnes 
unless  I  go  up,  which  I  will  do,  or  send  Mr.  Put- 
nam, if  he  has  any  particular  business. 

Adieu  Dear  Sir. 

From  this  Island  we  could  come  and  go  where 
we  chose  and  return  here  at  our  leisure.  .  .  . 

Unconvinced,  Mr.  Murray  still  recommended 
Brush  Hill.  The  British  reinforcements  were 
within  two  days  of  Boston  when  he  wrote,  "  The 
business  of  clearing  the  Neighborhood  of  this  town 
will  not  be  so  tedious."  He  anticipated  the  shelling 
of  the  town,  but  was,  as  ever,  "  tranquil,"  and  "  at 
ease." 

JAMES   MURKAY    TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Boston,  May  23d,  1775. 

Dear  Sister,  —  I  received  Dolly's  affectionate 
letter  by  Mrs.  Head,  and  shall  not  fail  to  avail 
myself  of  the  opportunity  of  her  return  to  speak  my 
mind,  as  you  both  wish  and  expect. 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         203 

Of  all  your  Plans,  that  of  St.  Johns  is  the  most  out 
of  the  way  and  improper.  The  business  of  clearing 
the  Neigfhborhood  of  this  town  will  not  be  so 
tedious.  ...  I  should  think  it  could  be  done  in  two 
or  three  Weeks.  The  greater  the  numbers  on  your 
side,  without  experienced  Generals,  as  they  are,  the 
greater  will  be  the  Confusion  and  the  more  total  the 
rout.  One  good  Effect  of  your  Army's  making  a 
Stand  and  taking  their  fate  on  the  Spot  may  be  to 
prevent  a  general  Devastation  of  the  Country,  which 
both  sides  ought  to  deplore  and  wish  to  avoid. 

Mr.  Inman  has  show'd  me  what  he  writes  you. 
He  leans  to  Point  Shirley  and  thinks  you  may  save 
your  Stock  by  driving  it  to  Chelsea.  I  imagine  that 
will  be  out  of  your  power,  that  as  soon  as  any 
attempt  is  perceived  to  save  your  Stock  by  putting  it 
out  of  the  way  of  your  Army  or  its  Friends,  so  soon 
will  it  be  driven  off  or  destroyed.  Things  are  now 
come  to  such  extremity,  the  stock  of  both  farms  is 
scarcely  an  object  of  attention.  It  is  still  my 
opinion  you  will  be  most  comfortable  at  Brush-hill 
and  as  safe  there  as  any  where,  even  as  safe  as  in 
town,  in  case  any  shells  are  to  be  thrown  upon  us  or 
if  we  are  to  be  set  on  fire  by  the  Whigs  within, 
which  many  suspect.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  as 
tranquil,  as  much  at  my  ease  as  ever  you  knew  me, 
from  an  entire  Resignation  to  Providence  and  a  firm 
persuasion  that  all  will  end  for  the  General  good.  I 
have  taken  possession  of  Betsey's  Chamber,  laid  my 
bed  on  the  floor ;  my  books,  my  old  and  (except 
you  and  two  or  three  more)  the  best  friends  now 


204  JAJ^IES  IVIURRAY,  LOYALIST 

left  to  me,  are  ranged  about  the  room ;  my  South 
window  has  a  fine  prospect  of  Beacon-hill,  Box's 
rope  Walks,  the  place  destined  for  the  Cavalry  and 
the  4th  Reg-t  Camp. 

Salt  provisions,  to  which  we  are  not  altogether 
confined,  agree  better  with  me,  eating  a  Quantity  of 
Rice,  pudding  or  greens  with  it,  than  a  hearty  meal 
of  fresh  victuals.  I  mention  this  because  Dolly 
pities  us  on  that  Score. 

Having  taken  some  pains  to  solicit  passes  for 
some  of  my  Acquaintance  and  for  several  poor 
people  who  would  not  have  got  them  so  readily 
without  me,  I  came  to  be  noticed  by  my  Friends, 
the  Tories,  who  raised  a  Clamour  against  me,  par- 
ticularly for  interfering  in  the  ease  of  Mr.  Boies, 
who  notwithstanding  our  Difference  in  poHtics,  has 
always  been  a  good  Neighbor  to  me.  .  .  . 

All  this  family  make  no  complaints  of  their  fare, 
think  themselves  very  safe,  and  would  be  happier 
were  you  and  Dolly  in  a  Situation  as  much  to  your 
liking  as  this  is  to  us.  .  .  . 

I  think  myself  much  obliged  to  your  good  Colonel 
for  his  kind  offers  of  protection  and  good  entertain- 
ment for  your  Husband  and  your  Brother.  In  our 
situation  it  would  be  highly  improper  to  give  him 
trouble  about  us.  I  shall  be  happy,  if,  in  the  vicis- 
situde of  human  Affairs,  it  may  be  in  my  power  to 
render  him  any  Service.   .  .  . 

I  told  Crane  to  carry  three  barrels  of  Cider,  a 
present  to  Gen^  Thomas  at  Roxbury,  who  has  been 
very  poHte  to  me  and  my  people.     This  I  wrote  the 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         205 

Gen*  of  and  desired  his  acceptance.  Let  Dolly  see 
that  it  be  sent. 

Between  this  and  you  at  Brush-hill,  the  commu- 
nication by  boys  will  be  easy,  as  I  wrote  you  before, 
as  also  for  teams  when  wanted. 

I  have  written  to  Lady  Don,  to  Brother  John  and 
Mr.  Pringle  by  Callahan,  who  is  still  detained  by 
the  Weather. 

I  send  by  Mrs.  Head  paper,  pens  and  wax  as  Dolly 
desired. 

Adieu,  may  God  bless,  direct  and  preserve  you 
and  yours. 

In  obedience  to  the  advice  she  received,  Mrs. 
Inman  began  the  slow  process  of  removing  her  goods 
and  servants  from  Cambridge  to  Brush  Hill. 

ELIZABETH   INMAN   TO    KALPH   INMAN. 

Cambridge,  May  29  &  30th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  To  satisfy  my  friends  I  am  about  a 
most  disagreeable  task,  that  of  moving  from  a  once 
dehghtful  home  to  wander  God  knows  where.  I 
think  it  necessary  to  leave  Fesenden,  Titus  and  Bill, 
the  young  Fesenden  must  go  with  us,  he  is  too 
young  to  leave  among  so  much  company. 

Harry  is  anxious  to  go  to  town,  I  have  told  him  he 
wants  so  much  nursing,  milk,  broth,  greens  &c  that 
you  could  not  have  him  with  you.  He  has  desired 
his  foules  and  ducks  may  go  with  him  and  his  trunk 
&c;  if  so  he  thinks  he  can  be  very  happy  where 
I  go.     Bella  Flue   moves  first.     I  went  to  Brush- 


206  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

hill  this  morning.  Crane  is  to  move  his  family  to 
some  part  of  Stoughton  to-morrow.  With  Mr. 
Boises  advice  I  hired  him  at  the  same  rates  you 
give  Fesenden  to  assist  in  getting  the  hay  and 
crop.  I  intend  he  shall  sleep  in  one  end  garret  and 
Fesenden  in  the  other. 

Col.  Sargent  is  not  at  home.  When  he  returns  I 
shall  offer  him  what  part  of  the  house  he  chuses. 
I  have  thought  very  seriously  of  these  matters ;  I 
hope  the  part  I  have  acted  will  be  agreeable  to  you. 
Bill  is  to  be  Cook,  Gardener  and  Housekeeper. 

What  is  become  of  Judge  Denforth  and  daugh- 
ter?    I  fear  they  have  been  frighted. 

Dear  Sir/  —  My  aunt  has  been  so  busy  in  send- 
ing off  the  goods  to  Brush-hill  that  she  has  not 
time  to  finish  her  letter,  desires  me  to  let  you  know 
she  has  sent  Bill  to  return  with  the  chaise  carriao^e 
that  Jack  went  down  with.  He  takes  Jacks  clothes 
with  him,  who  she  does  not  expect  to  return  to  her 
again. 

I  know  it  will  be  a  satisfaction  to  hear  we  have 
begun  to  move  and  I  hope  we  shall  soon  have  it  in 
our  power  to  acquaint  you  We  are  settled  at 
Brush-hill^  altho'  I  assure  you  it  is  with  great  reluc- 
tance we  leave  this  agreeable  place.  I  wish  it  may 
make  you  and  the  rest  of  our  friends  easy. 

May  31st.^  —  You  was  to  have  had  this  but  Bill 
brought  it  back  again.  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Bacon  carrys 
this  to  the  ferry  and  stay  for  letters  from  Mr. 
Goldthwait. 

^  Here  Dorothy  Forbes  continues  the  letter. 
2  Here  Mrs.  Inman  resumes. 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         207 

Pray  write  how  you  are.  Have  you  shirts  and 
linen  according  to  memorandum.     Adieu. 

The  next  letter  is  too  complicated  in  its  bearings 
for  any  attempt  at  explanation.  Its  effect  upon 
Mr.  Inman  was  disastrous. 


ELIZABETH    INMAN   TO    RALPH   INDIAN. 

Cambridge,  June  12tli,  75. 

Dear  Sir,  —  On  Thursday  I  received  your  kind 
letter  with  the  note  inclosed  for  C.  and  N.  Every 
day  convinces  me  more  and  more  that  you  were  in 
the  right  not  to  mind  my  apprehensions  when  I 
wrote  to  you  to  meet  me  at  Mr.  Russles.^  That 
time  I  told  you  this  would  not  do  for  a  home  for 
me,  four  days  after  you  sent  me  word  you  could  not 
meet  me  and  advised  me  by  all  means  to  stay  here. 
This  I  own  I  thought  cruel,  and  determined  from 
that  moment  to  run  all  risks  rather  than  come  to 
town,  and  as  soon  as  I  could  I  wrote  for  Dolly  and 
her  children. 

Told  you  complaining  was  not  a  crime  of  mine, 
but  here  I  could  not  sleep,  promised  to  attend  in  the 
day  as  often  as  possible,  after  that  Jobs  affair  hap- 
pened and  Brush-hill  was  robb'd  at  that  time.  I 
should  certainly  have  stept  into  Boston  if  I  had  not 
been  denied  that  privilege,  at  a  time  when  Judge 
Denforth  was  to  leave  me  alone  amono^  numbers 
whose  persons  and  manners  I  was  entirely  unac- 
quainted with.  The  day  after  the  good  man  left  me 
1  See  letter  of  May  6,  p.  193. 


208  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

had  like  to  have  proved  fatal,  and  if  I  had  not  been 
roused  beyond  reason  to  have  acted  an  uncommon 
part,  I  mean  calling  gentlemen  to  turn  away  men 
who  had  done  nothing  but  their  duty  considering 
the  story  Job  told  them/  do  you  imagine,  desgusted 
as  I  was-  at  my  setuation,  I  would  have  made  Col. 
Sargent  a  promise  of  staying  here  if  he  would  pro- 
tect me.  No  Sir  that  night  you  would  have  seen 
me.  Intrest  would  have  been  no  concern  of  mine. 
Since  that  I  have  been  more  calm.  Rather  than  ap- 
pear dull,  I  throw  my  anxiety  off  with  a  laugh,  go 
about  and  order  things  as  if  I  was  to  stay  here  for 
years,  and  at  the  same  time  I  believe  a  few  months 
will  deprive  me  the  pleasure  of  giving  you  an 
account  of  what  your  servants  have  done.  Be  that 
as  it  will,  I  have  done  my  best  for  your  and  your 
familys  intrest.  I  would  leave  this  place  directly, 
but  I  hear  our  neighbor's  Hay  and  crops  are  to  be 
taken  in  by  those  in  power,  therefore  I  am  glad 
Mrs.  Sargent  is  coming  down,  it  will  be  expensive, 
but  our  creatures  will  starve  if  we  do  not  save  as 
much  as  we  can.  You  mention  the  hay,  I  have 
thought  a  great  deal  of  and  think  it  will  be  prudent 
to  carry  it  to  Brush-hill  if  I  am  allowed. 

Do  not  be  uneasy  about  me.     Am  glad  you  are 
in  town.  Adieu. 

1  See  letter  of  May  6,  p.  193. 


A  TORY  IX  REYOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         209 

RALPH   INMAN   TO   ELIZABETH   INMAN. 

Tuesday  Morn,  13th  June,  1775. 

Dear  Madam,  —  How  unhappy  was  I  in  the  mis- 
take I  made  in  the  pass  to  meet  you  at  Mr.  Russels. 
It  being  directed  for  you  instead  of  me  was  the  rea- 
son you  did  not  see  me,  as  none  of  my  friends  were 
Knowing  to  it,  neither  did  I  pay  any  Regard  on  that 
account.  I  keep  it  by  me  to  show  you  when  we 
meet,  which  I  hope  in  God  will  be  soon,  being  too 
much  distrest  to  Continue  any  longer  absent.  It 
never  was  my  Inclination  to  be  separated  for  a  mo- 
ment, unless  it  was  your  own  choice.  What  I  have 
said  or  done  has  been  to  Comply  with  what  I  thought 
would  be  agreeable  to  you,  for  I  assure  you  that  my 
Situation  has  wore  me  down,  and  I  cannot  continue 
long  to  be  so  much  distrest  as  I  have  Experienc't 
since  your  Absence.  The  Course  of  my  Life  is  to 
get  up  in  the  Morning  to  Breakfast  and  do  what 
necessary  Business  I  can  (which  is  but  small),  get 
done  and  about  ten  O'Clock  at  night  I  goe  to 
Bed.  No  more  of  the  Family  do  I  see  till  next  Morn- 
ing. ... 

...  It  is  Necessary  you  should  be  in  Town.  .  .  . 
I  have  wrote  you,  and  now  do  from  my  Soul  request, 
that  you  will  come  to  Town,  and  leave  your  affairs  in 
the  best  Situation  you  can.  I  claim  no  Advantage. 
My  interest  I  give  up.  If  you  can't  dispose  of  your 
Servants  to  your  mind,  bring  them  to  Town.  Let 
us  take  the  Chance  with  our  Neighbours.  I  will 
bear  any  hardship  to  have  you  with  me.  My  spiritts 
wiU  be  insupportable  to  live  the  Life  I  do.     I  have 


210  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

gone  through  many  tryalls,  which  I  thought  would 
have  Overcome  me,  but  I  hope  they  are  Over  and 
will  be  a  Comfort  to  me  in  my  distress.  Pray  leave 
the  Farm  to  take  its  Chance.  Your  Creatures  are 
of  no  consequence,  your  Hay  the  same.  Carry  none 
to  Brush  Hill,  but  hasten  your  way  to  Boston,  where 
we  shall  be  as  happy  as  those  about  us ;  and  if  we 
cannot  remain  Quiet  here,  I  will  goe  where  ever  you 
please.  I  know  we  shall  meet  with  friends  in  any 
part  of  the  Globe,  for  I  can  clap  my  hand  to  my 
Breast  and  say  that  I  have  injured  no  Man,  nor 
given  cause  to  make  myself  an  Enemy.  We  have 
both  gone  through  many  tryalls  in  Life,  and  all  that 
I  aim  at  now  is  to  make  my  latter  days  Easy,  which 
a  httle  matter  will  do  after  going  thro'  the  Bustle 
and  cares  of  high  Life.  I  assure  you  I  can  content 
myself  in  any  little  Hovell  that  will  afford  me  a 
Bare  Sustinence,  to  have  you  with  me.  Dont  think 
of  removing  anywhere  but  to  Town.  Quit  every 
thought  of  Prosecuting  any  other  scheme.  You 
need  only  come  to  the  Lines  and  make  enquiry  for 
Mr.  B.  Davis  or  Capt.  Bowen  and  they  will  conduct 
you  safe  to  Town,  or  send  me  a  line  that  I  may  at- 
tend you.  .  .  . 

I  am  forever  yours.  Adieu 

Ralph  Inman. 
P.  S.  This  is  my  Only  and  Last  Request  that  you 
will  come  to  Town,  with  your  Family  and  Servants, 
for  I  cannot  live  in  my  present  Situation.  Mr.  & 
Mrs.  Rowe  urge  it,  and  all  your  friends  desire  to 
have  you  in  Town,     It  was  always  mine,  had  I  not 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         211 

mistook  your  meaning.  Be  at  no  more  Expense  on 
the  farm.  Let  those  take  it  that  will  Reap  the  Crop, 
and  send  me  word  and  I  '11  secure  a  pass  for  all. 
It  is  not  Time  to  deliberate.  Jack  M.,  too,  I  can  pro- 
vide for.  Would  not  Shed  take  some  of  the  other 
Servants  to  board  ?  Act  yourself  by  them,  but  Bill 
must  come  with  you,  for  nothing  can  be  done  with- 
out his  help  in  Town.  I  should  be  glad  of  a  line 
by  the  first  Opportunity  over  the  Ferry  to  know 
my  Fate,  for  your  letter  Yesterday  has  distres'd  me 
above  measure.  .  .  . 

To  this  Mrs.  Inman  replied  :  — 

ELIZABETH   INMAN    TO   RALPH   INMAN. 

June  14th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Your  very  affectionate  letter  I  re- 
ceived yesterday  by  Mrs.  Cordis,  am  much  obliged 
to  you  for  setting  this  matter  to  rights.  I  freely 
own  it  made  me  very  inattentive  to  myself.  When 
they  used  to  tell  me  I  was  in  a  place  of  great  danger 
I  told  them  with  a  cheerful  countenance  we  could 
die  but  once,  and  I  was  a  predestinarian,  therefore 
had  no  personal  fear,  not  even  when  I  stood  before 
a  Company  that  made  a  prisoner  of  me  in  a  formal 
manner.  The  day  and  evening  the  Girls  were  here, 
notwithstanding  my  carelessness  about  myself,  be 
assured.  Dear  Sir,  I  did  not  neglect  what  I  thought 
would  be  most  for  your  intrest.  I  have  carefully 
studied  it,  and  if  I  have  erred  it  is  in  Judgement ; 
and  if  I  did  not  see  a  fare  prospect  of  saving  your 


212  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

crop,  stock  &c  &c,  I  would  immediately  go  to  town 
and  convince  you  how  ready  I  was  to  obey.  Indeed, 
it  is  my  inclination,  but  you  wisely  observe  your  in- 
come is  only  seventy  pound  sterling  a  year.  In  that 
case  your  servants  could  not  be  mentain'd  in  town. 
It  would  certainly  take  more  than  that  sum  to  buy 
only  them  the  worst  of  provisions.  Therefore  I  '11 
give  you  my  opinion,  it  is  for  me  to  sleep  at  Brush- 
hill  and  come  here  in  the  day,  till  we  get  our  hay 
and  crops  removed ;  then  leave  this  place  to  the 
care  of  Col.  Sargent  &  Lady,  with  one  or  two  ser- 
vants to  prevent  the  house  and  farm  being  hurt  or 
crowded ;  to  leave  the  other  servants  with  Badcock 
at  Brush-hill ;  to  sell  as  much  of  the  produce  and 
stock  as  possible,  or  leave  at  Brush-hill  as  you  think 
proper.  As  we  have  sown  it  is  a  pitty  not  to  reap. 
...  I  am  sorry  my  letter  gave  you  so  much  uneasy- 
ness.  I  thought,  as  times  were,  it  was  necessary  to 
speak  my  mind.  When  I  have  done  that  my  heart 
is  at  ease.  I  hope  and  pray  yours  may  be  the  same, 
and  when  an  opportunity  offers  I  beg  you  will  write 
as  freely  to  me  as  I  have  done  to  you.  The  conse- 
quence of  my  going  to  Town  now  is  an  entire  loss  of 
your  stock,  and  this  year's  produce.  I  have  gone 
throw  some  difficulty  to  preserve  it,  and  I  think  a 
little  while  longer  may  accomplish  my  design.  I 
would  have  you  consider  of  this  affair  seriously  and 
let  me  know  your  determination. 

Adieu,  Dear  Sir. 

Three  days  after  the  date  of  the  last  letter  came 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         213 

the  battle  o£  Bunker  Hill.  Cambridge  was  at  the 
highest  pitch  of  excitement,  —  the  camp  there  was 
a  scene  of  confusion,  the  townspeople  stricken  with 
terror.  For,  should  the  British  succeed  at  those 
frail  outworks,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  them 
from  attacking  the  American  army  at  its  headquar- 
ters. But  what  sensations  the  moving  troops,  the 
sound  of  battle,  and  the  smoke  of  the  burning 
houses  of  Charlestown  aroused  in  the  Murrays  in 
Boston  or  in  Mrs.  Inman  in  Cambridge  can  only  be 
conjectured,  for  no  family  letter  touching  on  the 
battle  is  extant. 

One  such  letter  did  exist,  but  it  has  vanished.  It 
was  from  Mrs.  Forbes,  and  in  it  she  related  that  she 
was  in  Cambridge  on  the  morning  of  the  seven- 
teenth, but  that,  unable  to  endure  her  fright,  she 
made  a  fifteen-year-old  boy  harness  a  horse  to  her 
Aunt  Inman's  chaise  and  drive  her  to  Brush  Hill, 
the  noise  of  the  firing  causing  her  to  stop  her  ears 
all  the  way. 

Mrs.  Inman,  with  the  rest  of  her  servants,  also 
fled  during  the  day,  but  how  or  with  whom  is  not 
known. 

Family  tradition,  borne  out  by  anecdotes  of  the 
time,  relates  that  General  Putnam's  son,  who  was  in 
the  habit  of  guarding  the  Inman  house  by  sleeping 
there  at  night,  was  instructed  by  his  father  to  remain 
with  Mrs.  Inman  on  the  17th,  and,  if  she  left  the 
town,  to  escort  her  to  a  place  of  safety.  It  is  to  be 
presumed  that  he  obeyed  the  charge. 

The  blank  in  the  correspondence  after  the  date  of 


214  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

the  battle  is  broken  by  the  following  formal  com- 
munication from  Mr.  Murray  :  — 

M'"  Murray  presents  his  Affectionate  Compliments 
to  his  Sister  Inman  &  his  Daughter  Forbes.  He  has 
obtained  Leave  from  the  Commander  in  Chief  to  see 
them  or  either  of  them,  with  General  Howe's  con- 
sent, at  the  advanced  posts  of  Charlestown  on  Satur- 
day next.  He  proposes  this  Interview  to  be  between 
the  hours  of  Eleven  &  one  O'Clock.  Betsey  is 
named  in  the  Permit  &  purposes  to  be  of  the  party. 
M"  Inman's  old  Acquaintance  Colin  Campbell,  now 
a  Captain  in  the  35*^  Reg*,  intends  to  escorte  us,  if 
he  shall  be  on  duty,  we  shall  bring  some  other  offi- 
cer to  be  Eye  &  Ear  Witness  of  all  that  passes. 
And  the  Ladies  are  desired  to  use  the  same  precau- 
tion, on  their  side  :  the  Times  require  it. 

M''  Lloyd  has  likewise  got  Permission  to  see,  on 
the  same  day,  his  Mother  &  Sister  Lisle  &  to  bring 
them  in,  if  they  choose. 

Boston  July  26'''  Wednesday  1775. 

The  next  letter  from  Mrs.  Inman  is  from  Brush 
Hill. 

The  Mrs.  Hooper,  to  whom  it  refers,  is  WilHam 
Hooper's  mother.  During  the  siege  she  and  her 
son  were  tenderly  cared  for  by  the  Murray  family  in 
Boston,  and  afterward  at  Brush  Hill.  That  the  let- 
ter in  its  caustic  dealing  with  Mr.  Inman  should 
have  thrown  that  gentleman  into  a  second  tremor  of 
agitation  can  scarcely  be  wondered  at. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         215 

ELIZABETH   INMAN    TO   RALPH   INMAN. 

Brush-hill,  July  30th,  1775. 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  had  the  pleasure  of  yours  at  the 
lines  yesterday  with  a  note  wherein  you  say  you  did 
not  deliver  Mrs.  Hooper's  letter.  The  day  Mrs. 
Forbes  was  at  the  Lines  with  it  she  expected  to 
meet  Anne  and  had  a  message  for  her  for  a  key  to 
that  letter,  but  she  was  disappointed  in  not  seeing 
her.     The  message  she  will  write  you. 

In  my  last  I  told  you  I  was  planing  night  and 
day.  These  plans  were  well  meant  and  not  selfish. 
However,  as  they  do  not  suit  you,  I  rest  satisfied. 
If  you  had  given  Mrs.  Hooper  the  letter  and  told 
her  you  would  be  glad  if  she  would  stay  in  town  till 
I  could  come  in,  she  would  certainly  have  done  it, 
and  according  to  my  desire  she  might  have  sent  for 
fresh  meat.  I  am  sure  it  would  have  been  granted, 
as  G.  Washington  says  he  will  do  every  thing  in  his 
Power  to  serve  her. 

Words  cannot  describe  my  astonishment  when  I 
received  your  message ;  it  was  if  Mrs.  Hooper  came 
out  of  town  you  would  go  to  London  with  Mr.  & 
Mrs.  Rowe.  If  this  is  a  return  for  the  many 
anxious  and  fatigueing  days  I  have  had,  I  leave  it 
to  your  better  Judgement,  and  will  endeavor  to  sub- 
mit. To  save  you  from  every  anxiety  that  is  in  my 
power  to  prevent,  I  enclose  your  order  on  Clark  & 
Nightengale,  as  you  say  in  your  note  "  R.  I.  has 
received  but  Httle  money  since  he  came  to  town. 
He  has  been  obliged  to  draw  for  his  own  wants, 
and  waits  to  receive  his  account  current  from  Lanes 


216  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

House  to  see  if  he  is  entitled  to  draw  for  the  Provi- 
dence sum,  which  he  cannot  do  should  his  depend- 
ance  on  a  bill  remitted  be  returned  or  any  failure 
in  the  house  which  he  is  anxious  to  hear  from." 
Now,  Sir,  you  have  received  this  valuable  treasure 
(an  order  for  one  hundred  pound  sterling),  I  beg 
you  '11  cast  off  your  cares.  Anxiety  is  very  bad  for 
the  health,  which  you  '11  require  a  great  share  of,  as 
well  as  money  and  good  spirits,  in  seeing  and  being 
seen  in  England. 

You  have  sent  a  List  of  debts  with  directions  to 
get  Intrest  but  not  principle.  I  hate  to  be  insulted, 
therefore  cannot  make  any  demand  at  present,  nor 
at  any  other  time,  without  a  power  from  you ;  no 
doubt  you  '11  leave  one  with  some  friend  before  you 
sail.  BeHeve  me,  Mr.  Inman,  I  am  not  anxious 
about  a  mentinence.  Experience  has  taught  me, 
water-gruel  and  salt  for  supper  and  breakfast,  with 
a  bit  of  meat,  a  few  greens  or  roots,  are  enough  for 
me.  No  doubt  you  blame  me  to  your  numerous 
acquaintance  for  not  coming  to  Town.  I  think  they 
ought  to  hear  my  reasons  before  they  condemn  me. 
In  the  first  of  the  bussle  you  wrote  to  me  that  I  was 
better  in  the  Country  than  in  town,  after  that  you 
wrote  to  me  you  could  not  command  but  seventy 
pound  sterling  a  year,  and  provisions  were  very 
dear  and  scarce.  A  few  weeks  after  that,  you  in- 
vited me  and  your  large  family  into  town,  which 
family,  I  mean  those  you  had  before  I  Hved  at 
Cambridge,  spent  three  hundred  and  twenty  pound 
sterling  a  year,  and  the  produce  of  the  farm.     This 


A   TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         217 

invitation  I  thought  very  seriously  of,  and  would 
have  accepted  it  with  pleasure  on  my  own  account, 
but  was  and  am  certain  it  would  have  been  cruel  on 
theirs.  Therefore  I  wrote  to  you  that  sum  would 
not  buy  them  the  worst  of  provisions  in  the  cheap- 
est times,  and  proposed  my  staying  to  assist  them  in 
protecting  and  taking  care  of  the  crop  that  could  be 
saved,  in  order  to  maintain  them,  till  they  could 
raise  another  in  some  quiet  part  of  the  country. 
The  hay  we  were  obliged  to  move ;  there  was 
twenty-five  Ton  of  it.  I  paid  three  pound  ten 
shilling  0.  T.  a  load  for  bringing  it  here.  At  that 
time  your  carts  and  Brush-hill  ones  were  employed 
in  bringing  furniture  &c.  The  rye  turns  out  very 
well,  they  are  now  thrashing  it.  There  is  but  little 
hay  any  where,  the  drought  has  been  very  severe. 
I  proposed,  if  I  had  disposed  of  the  rest  of  the 
crops,  to  have  changed  houses  with  Mrs.  Hooper, 
left  the  servants  here,  —  Mrs.  Hooper  and  John  to 
have  paid  Mrs.  Forbes  enough  for  their  board  to 
have  bought  cash  articles  with,  the  produce  of  this 

farm  to  have  been  an  equivalent  for  Mrs.  F , 

Betzy  and  the  children. 

As  to  the  aspersion  of  this  being  G.  Lee's  head- 
quarters, I  cannot  imagine  how  it  arose.  I  never 
saw  him  till  Saturday  at  the  Lines.  None  of  the 
gentlemen  have  been  here  but  Mr.  Sargent  once  to 
wait  on  his  lady.  As  to  having  letters  directed 
to  my  care,  I  could  not  deny  that  privilege  to  those 
that  asked  me.  They  knew  Mr.  Sargent  lived  in 
your  house,  who  went  to  head  quarters  every  day, 


218  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

and  had  an  opportunity  to  take  them  up  and  send 
them  here.  I  beg  to  know  what  else  I  am  accused 
of.  Be  assured,  Dear  Sir,  I  will  with  pleasure 
account  for  every  action  that  I  remember  since  the 
year  seventeen  hundred  and  twenty-six  (the  year  of 
my  birth). 

I  have  not  had  the  manners  to  return  one  of  the 
visits  the  Ladies  paid  me  on  my  arrival  here. 

Adieu  Dear  Sir. 

Parts  of  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Murray  to 
Mrs.  Forbes  were  evidently  written  in  reply  to  the 
letter  from  Mrs.  Inman  to  her  husband,  and  were 
intended  for  her  eye.  They  still  have  the  authori- 
tative tone  of  the  elder  brother. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  DOROTHY  FORBES. 

Boston,  September  10th,  1775. 

Dear  Dolly,  —  I  am  now  to  answer  at  more 
length  and  more  ease  than  I  did  yesterday  through 
the  Lines,  several  letters  which  have  been  lately  re- 
ceived by  Mr.  Walkers,  Uncle  and  myself.  He  is 
so  deranged  by  the  tenor  of  one  of  his  that  he  can- 
not yet  be  composed  enough  to  reply. 

I  said  yesterday  and  said  truly  that  the  giving  no 
power  to  receive  principal  sums  was  of  my  Sugges- 
tion, that  the  Attorney  might  not  be  compelled  to 
take  such  disagreeable  payment  as  might  in  these 
days  of  confusion  be  tendered.  As  to  Mrs.  H[ooper] 
I  had  before  the  Receipt  of  the  letter  to  her  pro- 
posed her  going  to  the  Country  before  I  thought  of 


A  TORY  m   REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON    219 

consulting  Mr.  I.  She  did  not  seem  to  relish  it, 
yet  acquiesced,  but  the  Son  absolutely  refused  to 
leave  the  Town.  Add  to  this  Mr.  Inman's  desire 
to  have  them  in  the  house  as  some  Company  to  him, 

for  A was  none.     It  was  also  by  my  advice  that 

the  Letter  to  her  was  kept  back.  We  could  not 
divine  the  scheme  that  has  since  opened  about  a 
change  of  houses,  which  would  have  been  highly 
pleasing  to  him  and  me,  but  not  so,  I  fancy,  to  any 
of  the  Ladies  within  or  without. 

One  would  think  1726  was  at  distance  enough  to 
learn  to  make  allowance  for  the  vexation  the  times 
give  to  one  put  quite  out  of  his  usual  mode  of  life 
and  hampered  in  business.  On  the  other  hand,  if  we 
consider  seriously  what  vast  alteration  both  with 
regard  to  Life  and  property  a  little  time  may  soon 
produce,  we  shall  not  be  apt  to  take  Exceptions 
to  the  conduct  of  our  nearest  and  best  friends,  but 
put  the  most  favourable  Construction  upon  it.  Nor 
shall  we  despond  under  the  troubles  of  the  Time  if 
we  can  persuade  ourselves,  as  we  ought,  that  Pro- 
vidence will  bring  much  good  out  of  them. 

I  understood  by  Annie's  letter  that  she  would 
have  leave  on  your  Side  to  come  through  the  Lines, 
therefore  applied  for  leave  here,  which  I  obtained 
after  calling  for  it  three  or  four  times,  but  with  this 
mortifying  restraint,  that  I  was  not  to  pass  the  Lines 
or  have  any  Conference  with  a  friend  without,  while 
that  privilege  was  allowed  that  day  to  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Walter.^     You  see  in  what  a  State  of  Diffidence  and 

^  "  Rev.  Nathaniel  Walter,  son  of  Rev.  Nehemiah  Walter,  of  the 


220  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Suspicion  I  stand  in  here  by  my  family  being  able 
to  make  their  Quarters  good  in  the  Country.  This 
I  am  quite  unconcerned  about,  because  time  and 
Opportunity  will  exculpate  me  to  the  World  in  that 
respect,  as  much  as  I  am  now  before  God  and  Con- 
science. 

Mr.  Inman  desires  me  to  inclose  with  this  his 
power  to  Mrs.  Inman.  She  will  consider  how  far  it 
may  be  proper  to  publish  it,  for  the  Reasons  before 
mentioned. 

I  send  you  also  Mr  Forbes'  letter  as  you  say  this 
sent  by  way  of  Newport  will  not  be  opened. 

The  June  packet  arrived  yesterday,  but  no  Letters 
for  any  of  us. 

Mary  Murray  had,  in  1774,  gone  to  England  to 
visit  her  parents,  leaving  her  millinery  wares  and 
customers  in  the  hands  of  her  sister  Anne.  Of 
Anne's  affairs  Mr.  Murray  speaks  in  the  ensuing 
letter.  She  had  been  sent  to  Brush  Hill  for  a  di- 
version, not  so  much  from  the  cares  of  business 
as  from  the  vicinity  of  a  youth  who  was  yet  a 
student  and  without  any  means  of  support  except 
what  his  father  supplied.  He  was  William  Dummer 
Powell,  son  of  John  Powell,  a  stanch  loyalist. 

First  Church.  He  was  born  in  Roxbury  August  15,  1711,  graduated 
at  Harvard  College  in  1729,  was  ordained  over  the  Second  Church 
July  10,  1734,  and  died  March  11,  1776.  He  was  a  chaplain  in  the 
Louisburg  expedition,  and  acted  as  interpreter  for  General  Pepperell. 
Mem.  Hist.  Bost.  vol.  ii.  p.  346. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONAEY  BOSTON         221 

JAMES   MURRAY  TO  ELIZABETH  INMAN. 

Boston,  August  28,  1775. 

Dear  Sister,  —  As  I  am  like  to  have  few  Oppor- 
tunities like  this,  it  would  be  unpardonable  not  to 
write  you  freely. 

I  hesitate  much  about  sending  out  Betsey,  who 
now  seems  anxious  to  go.  It  is  thought  very  odd 
that,  while  other  Tories  are  loudly  complaining  of 
the  restraints  and  hardships  their  families  suffer  in 
the  Country,  I  should  voluntarily  throw  my  Daugh- 
ter into  the  same  Snare,  where  if  she  fare  better  than 
others,  the  Inference  wiU  not  be  to  my  advantage. 
I  wish  for  your  advice  before  she  be  sent  out,  but 
that  I  know  not  how  you  can  send,  all  communica- 
tion at  the  Lines  being  cut  off,  unless  you  can  get  a 
safe  hand  to  deliver  your  letter  to  Mr.  Ross,  the  man 
of  Mr.  Tarbett's  boat,  who  transports  the  Emigrants 
to  Winnisimet. 

I  wrote  you  last  week  that  it  is  impracticable  at 
this  time  to  dispose  of  Anny's  goods  by  wholesale, 
they  would  not  fetch  ten  shillings  on  the  pound. 
In  winter,  if  we  continue  here,  it  will  be  necessary 
for  her  to  come  in  for  a  while  at  least,  for  I  cannot 
make  up  the  Accounts  without  her,  and  then  goods 
of  her  sort  will  be  scarcer  and  of  course  more  sale- 
able. My  wife  proposes  that  she  should  stay  with 
us  and  tend  her  Shop  in  the  day  only.  This  might 
help  to  check  some  improper  danghng. 

I  have  said,  if  we  continue  here,  for  it  is  a  fa- 
vourite scheme  of  many  Officers  of  the  Army,  I  do 
not  say  of  the  General,  to  lay  this  town  in  Ashes  and 


222  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

to  decamp  with  the  Tories  toward  New  York,  where 
there  will  be  more  elbow  Room  and  more  of  the 
Country  people  to  countenance  and  assist  the  King's 
Army.  It  is  said  this  scheme  has  been  much  incul- 
cated by  Letters  from  hence,  and  orders  are  by  some 
expected  in  Consequence. 

A  Man  of  War  arrived  on  Saturday  mth  dis- 
patches for  the  General,  which  left  Plymouth  the 
21st  June,  but  nothing  by  that  ship  Transpires. 
A  Victualing  ship  arrived  last  week  which  brings  a 
Letter  of  the  15th  June  from  Mr.  Blowers  to  Mr. 
Rogers,  Amory's  partner,  saying  that  the  General's 
account  of  the  19th  April  by  Capt.  Brown  had  ar- 
rived only  two  days  before,  that  it  had  not  at  all 
affected  the  stocks,  that  the  Ministry  had  the  enthe 
confidence  of  the  Nation,  and  that  the  present  con- 
duct of  the  Americans  would  increase  the  number, 
not  of  their  friends,  but  of  their  enemies  at  home. 
These  articles  I  had  from  Mr.  Rogers  hunself .  .  .  . 

The  Town  has  been  very  sickly,  but  this  family 
and  the  Sugar  house  have  escaped. 

As  the  time  of  Gage's  departure  for  England 
drew  near,  the  regulations  affecting  intercourse 
between  Boston  and  the  country  grew  somewhat 
slack.  Communication  between  Milton  and  Boston 
was  carried  on  by  vessels  sailing  up  the  Neponset. 
Mrs.  Inman  journeyed  back  and  forth  between  the 
two  places,  and  even  went  to  the  Inman  house  in 
Cambridge ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray  visited  Brush 
Hill,  Annie  Murray  returned  to  town,  where  her 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         223 

betrothal  and  marriage  to  William  Powell  occurred ; 
and  Elizabeth,  after  spending  a  few  weeks  at  the 
farm,  danced  unchallenged  in  Boston  at  a  Tory 
ball.  It  was  rather  remarkable  that  the  family 
could  stand,  even  temporarily,  in  such  high  favor 
with  both  sides. 


JAMES   MURRAY  TO    DOROTHY    FORBES    AND    ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

Boston,  October  2d,  1775. 

My  dear  Friends,  —  I  had  the  pleasure  to  re- 
ceive your  Letter  of  the  23d  by  your  Aunt,  who 
came  upon  us  as  unexpectedly  as  agreeably  and  who 
will  find  it  necessary  to  stay  here  for  some  time  to 
expedite  her  Niece  Anne,  who  goes  for  England, 
fellow  passenger  with  Mrs.  Comm-r.  Robinson,^  Mr., 
Mrs.  and  Miss  Burch  and  General  Jones's  Daugh- 
ter. Mrs.  Gordon^  has  defer'd  her  voyage  till  the" 
Spring.  Baillie  A.  goes  home  next  month  on  a  very 
advantageous  prospect.  He  has  received  your 
Cheese  and  returns  his  thanks.  Padre's  ^  patron  to 
whom  you  sent  another  has  been  to  see  your  Aunt 
this  morning  —  says  you  ought  certainly  to  remain 
where  you  are  this  Winter,  and  is  very  glad  to  hear 
of  your  and  the  boys  health.  Your  Sister,  who 
went  out  of  town  against  my  inclination,  tho'  with 
my  Consent,  must  not  think  of  quitting  you  till  your 
Aunt's  return,  if  then. 

1  Wife  of  Mr.  Robinson  of  James  Otis  fame. 

2  Mrs.  Murray's  sister. 
2  Mr.  Forbes. 


224  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

Our  accounts  from  home  by  the  Cerberus  are  very 
agreeable  in  every  Respect.  One  I  may  mention  to 
you  is  that  both  the  army  and  Inhabitants  here  are 
to  be  plentifully  supplied  with  every  Necessary  dur- 
ing the  Winter.  I  hope  you  will  be  satisfied  with 
minding  your  farm  and  seeing  your  friends,  without 
being  inquisitive  about  the  Transactions  of  the 
Army  in  your  Neighbourhood.  Instead  of  hunting 
after  News  where  I  may  have  it  daily,  of  some  sort, 
on  the  Exchange,  I  consult  my  peace  and  health  by 
labouring  in  my  Garden,  leaving  the  affairs  of  State 
to  whom  they  belong. 

Padre's  letter  to  me  shall  be  sent  you  by  next 
Opportunity.  Poor  man  !  he  seems  still  to  be  trou- 
bled with  the  heart  burn.  You  mistake  it  much,  if 
you  imagine  any  charge  about  you  has  been  or  will 
be  painful  to  me  —  quite  the  reverse.  No  other 
expense  gives  me  so  much  pleasure,  and  I  hope  we 
shall  all  agree  in  cutting  our  Coats  according  to  our 
Cloth.  ... 

Be  cheerful  and  resigned.  My  love  to  the 
Children.  Yours  most  affectionately. 

JAMES   MURKAY  TO    DOROTHY    FORBES    AND  ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

Boston,  October  18th,  1775. 

Dear  Dolly  and  Betsey,  —  Having  so  good  a 
bearer  as  Mrs.  Hooper,  I  shall  write  you  all  that 
occurs,  as  far  as  may  be  proper  in  these  times. 
Knowing  your  affection  for  the  bearer  to  be  of  long 
standing,  I  need  not  recommend  her  to  your  and 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIOI^ARY   BOSTOIST         225 

Betsey's  particular  care  and  attention.  Your  Aunt 
says  she  ought  to  sleep  in  the  middle  Room,  and  one 
of  you  to  sleep  by  her  in  a  field  bed  to  be  moved 
from  the  Entry,  for  which  there  are  Curtains  in  the 
linen  press.  If  she  does  not  carry  curtains  for  her 
bed,  the  green  curtains  must  be  put  up. 

Be  careful  to  have  the  used  Chimneys  sweep'd 
once  a  month  by  Titus  or  whom  you  can  get,  and 
give  him  a  Pistareen  a  time. 

As  your  Ma  has  such  an  aversion  to  the  Country 
and  fondness  for  the  Town,  it  is  my  design  to  give 
up  the  farm  entirely  to  you  two,  and  when  I  go  out 
to  be  as  your  Guest  and  Adviser,  so  it  will  behoove 
you  to  manage  with  all  the  economy  you  can,  as  you 
will  have  no  other  subsistence.  .  .  .  Remember 
poor  Juba  ^  &c. 

Annexed  is  an  account  of  things  sent  out  for 
your  family's  use  and  chargd  to  you.  I  send  your 
Chest  to  the  Sugar  house,  as  also  what  things  were 
in  the  Bureau  put  in  my  portmanteau  trunk,  there 
to  remain  under  your  Aunt's  care  till  there  be  a 
better  opportunity  than  this  of  sending  them  out, 
which  is  likely  soon  to  happen.  It  is  said  there  will 
be  ere  long  leave  for  a  very  general  emigration  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  town.  ... 

ELIZABETH   INMAN   TO   DOROTHT   FOEBES. 

Cambridge,  Tuesday  evening,  Nov.  3d.,  1775. 

My  dear  Dolly,  —  Betsy  is  going  to  the  Ball. 
She  begs  you  '11  send  her  stays,  white  satin  ribbed 

^  The  slave  brought  from  St.  Augustine. 


226  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

ones,  best  laced  ruffles,  tucker  and  some  small 
flowers  and  a  large  one.  .  .  .  She  has  to  wear  colored 
clothes,  therefore  must  have  lace.  If  your  papa  and 
mama  are  gone  before  Isaac  gives  you  this,  put  the 
things  into  a  trunk  and  let  him  put  it  into  the  pan- 
yerds  and  carry  them  directly  to  Betzy.  If  they 
are  not  gone,  let  them  be  sent  in  the  carriage. 
Pray  send  her  fan  and  a  pocket  handkerchief ;  do 
not  omit  any  of  the  things.  If  the  things  go  in  the 
carriage,  send  Isaac  directly  back  with  your  pan- 
yerds  that  was  left  there  some  time  ago. 

If  you  can  go  to  the  BaU,  you  may  have  my  white 
lutstring  altered  in  an  hour  for  you.  I  '11  carry  it 
to  Town  in  the  morning  with  your  linen  from  the 
wash.  Adieu  my  Dear, 

Yours  most  affectionately 

E.  I. 

The  small  flowers  are  wanted  very  much,  pray 
send  them  all. 

Enclosed  is  a  letter  that  came  for  your  papa  last 
winter  which  I  forgot  to  give  him. 

Mrs.  Forbes  was  still  carrying  on  the  farm  with 
good  success,  and  as  averse  to  moving  to  town  as 
was  Mrs.  Inman.  "  Should  we  quit  the  place,"  she 
said,  in  a  letter  to  her  father,  "  it  would  soon  be 
filled,  as  Governor  Hutchinson's  and  others  are, 
with  all  kinds  of  Babble,  whoever  the  Committee 
think  fit.  Our  stock  would  be  sold  at  Vendue,  we 
might  expect  everything  to  go  to  ruin." 

Wood  had  been  cut  at  Brush  Hill  in  January,  as 
the  following  memorandum  shows. 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         227 

Milton,  Jan^  6,  1775. 
This  may  Certify  to  whom  it  may  Consern  that  I 
have  with  a  party  of  Men  from  the  American  Army 
Cut  fifty  three  &  an  half  Cords  of  wood  on  what  is 
Called  the  Murry  Lott  at  Brush  hill. 

Wm.  Cleveland,  Lieut. 
N.  B  one  half  Cord  of  the  above  wood  was  burnt 
by  the  party. 

It  was  not  surprising  that  the  wood  had  been 
taken,  as  the  towns  around  Cambridge  were  all 
expected  to  furnish  a  quota  of  fuel  for  the  army. 
Milton,  as  part  of  Roxbury,  was  drawn  upon,  and 
the  best  assistance  which  General  Mifflin  could  give 
to  Mrs.  Forbes  was  the  advice  in  the  following 
friendly  letter :  — 

GENERAL  MIFFLIN  TO  MES.   FOEBES. 

Cambridge,  16  October,  1775 

Dear  M^^  Forbes,  —  I  do  not  know  of  any 
orders  for  cutting  wood  on  your  Farm.  M"*  Parke 
my  Assistant  at  Koxbury  may  possibly  have  thought 
of  it,  but  would  not  send  out  a  party  without  con- 
sulting me. 

The  Army  is  in  want  of  wood  and  will  I  fear  be 
necessarily  suppHed  by  Encroachments  on  private 
Property. 

If  it  should  unfortunately  be  the  hard  Lot  of  M" 
Forbes  to  posess  wood  in  the  Neighbourhood  of 
Roxbury,  I  give  it  as  my  most  friendly  Advice  to 
send  immediately  some  careful  person  to  agree  with 


228  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

M""  Parke  in  Koxbury  for  the  wood  as  it  stands  &  to 
assist  in  surveying  it.  He  will  give  20/  p''  Cord  for 
Wood  delivered  in  Roxbury  &  a  proportionate  Price 
for  wood  in  Growth. 

I  will  write  to  M'^  Parke  &  prevent  any  Injury 
to  the  Farm.  As  to  the  Wood  Cutters,  if  any 
must  be  set  to  Work,  you  may  depend  upon  their 
good  Behaviour.  Any  Complaint  from  you  of  ill 
Treatment  will  be  carefully  attended  to ;  and  Care 
shall  be  taken  to  prevent  their  giving  you  any 
Trouble. 

You  have  Nothing  to  do  with  the  Wood  Cutters,  — 
they  will  be  supplied  with  provisions  from  the  Camp. 
If  they  presume  to  take  any  thing  without  your 
Consent  they  will  be  pimished  for  it. 

If  you  find  it  necessary  I  desire  you  to  show  this 
Letter  to  the  Committee  of  the  Town. 

M"^  Lynch  arrived  last  Night  without  his  Lady. 
If  it  should  be  in  my  power  to  ride  to  Milton  this 
Week  I  will  attend  M^^  MifBin. 

I  am  with  Compliments  to  Miss  Murray,  Madam, 

Your  obt  Ser  — 

Tho  Mifflin. 

In  November  or  December,  regulations  concern- 
ing passes  and  interviews  were  again  made  strin- 
gent, and  Mrs.  Inman's  visits  to  Boston  came  near 
causing  the  confiscation  of  some  of  her  property. 
The  circumstances  relating  to  this  incident  are  set 
forth  in  the  following  Memorial  of  Dorothy  Forbes. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         229 

To  THE  Hon"-  Council  &  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  Colony  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  Water  Town 
assembled  this  12th  Day  of  December  1775. 

The  memorial  of  Dorothy  Forbes  of  Milton  in 
the  County  of  Sufolk  most  humbly  sheweth,  That 
your  memorialest  now  is  and  was  left  in  possession 
of  a  considerable  part  of  the  Effects  of  Elizabeth 
Inman,  wife  of  Ralph  Inman  of  Cambridge,  now 
in  Boston,  that  during  the  Troubles  of  last  Summer 
the  said  EHzabeth  remained  at  Cambridge  till  such 
time  as  the  Danger  became  so  eminent  that  she  was 
advised  by  General  Putnam  and  Others  to  remove 
to  some  more  distant  place  for  Safety,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  said  Ehzabeth  removed  herself,  Family 
and  what  Effects  that  remained  in  her  hands  as  per 
Schedule  annexed,  to  this  Town.  Since  that  time 
the  s"^  EHzabeth  has  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  go 
into  Boston,  altho'  with  a  full  intent  to  return  with 
Mr.  Inman  and  Mrs.  Hooper  or  either  of  them. 
The  latter  of  whom  with  her  Son  has  come  out  and 
now  Hves  with  your  memorialest,  and  your  memorial- 
est is  credibly  informed  that  General  Howe  will  by 
no  means  even  permit  the  said  Ehzabeth  to  have  an 
interview  with  her  friends  at  the  lines.  The  Com- 
mittee of  this  Town  now  think  themselves  obliged 
by  the  Resolve  of  Congress  of  June  21st  last  to  take 
the  Effects  out  of  the  Custody  of  your  memorialest, 
but  your  memorialest  thinks  herself  entitled  to  re- 
main in  possession  of  the  above  Effects  agreeable  to 
the  Explanation  of  the  above  resolve  of  July  8th, 
which  Says  the  care  of  the  Committee  does  not  ex- 


230  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tend  to  any  part  of  those  estates  where  there  is  any 
occupant  or  j^ossession.  Your  memorialest  there- 
fore prays  that  she  may  continue  in  possession  of 
the  above  Effects  agreeable  to  the  Explanation  of  the 
above  resolve  ;  as  your  memorialest  has  a  very  large 
Fame  and  glory  to  maintain  and  is  willing  to  be 
accountable  to  the  Hon!  Court  and  also  to  pay  her 
taxes  and  her  proportion  of  the  Expenses  which  may 
occur  in  these  perplexing  times,  and  as  the  Commit- 
tee are  in  some  Doubt  about  the  above  resolve  your 
memorialest  prays  a  further  Explanation  of  the  Hon! 
Court  with  which  she  will  chearfully  acquiesce,  and 
as  your  memorialest  has  conducted  herself  agreeable 
to  the  Continental  Congress  she  prays  the  prayer 
of  her  petition  may  be  granted. 

The  threatened  danger  was  averted,  but  interviews 
continued  to  be  subject  to  restrictions  which  made 
them  less  productive  of  pleasure  than  of  pain. 
Meantime  the  sugar  house,  after  serving  the  King's 
troops  for  barracks,  had  been  converted  into  a  hos- 
pital for  patients  undergoing  inoculation  for  the 
small-pox. 

JAMES  MUERAY  TO   DOROTHY  FORBES  AND   ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

Boston,  December  15th,  1775. 

My  Dear  Children,  —  I  wrote  you  through  the 
Lines  since  our  last  Interview  that  it  was  so  short,  so 
embarrassed,  and  to  me  so  affecting,  I  should  not 
soon  desire  a  Repetition  of  it,  &  that  I  expected 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         231 

the  Overture  for  the  next  meeting  would  come  from 
you.  As  this  is  not  like  to  be  the  Case,  and  I  am 
anxious  to  see  you  once  more  before  Winter  sets  in, 
I  have  given  Gen^  Howe  the  trouble  of  another  ap- 
pHcation  for  a  Flag  of  Truce,  and  have  the  promise 
of  three  days  notice  that  I  may  warn  you  when  it 
may  be  granted. 

Mr.  Campbell  and  all  the  rest  of  your  friends  here 
are  well ;  many  of  them  happily  and  quickly  over 
the  small-pox  :  none  more  so  than  Mrs.  Barnes  and 
Crissy,  who  are  in  high  Spirits,  to  embark  for  Lon- 
don in  a  few  days.  Miss  Cumming's  Niece,  Mrs. 
Smith,  gone  home.  Mrs.  Gordon  and  her  family 
sail  this  day  for  Halifax.  Mrs.  Linzee's  Children 
under  inoculation  at  the  Sugar  house  doing  well. 
Our  three  Negroes  are  now  in  the  9th  day  of  the 
Eruption,  walking  about  the  Town.  The  Mother 
had  many  out  distinct  and  full,  —  her  Children  but 
a  few.  It  is  supposed  that  above  a  thousand  have 
now  had  this  Distemper  by  inoculation  (Dr.  Lloyd 
340  to  his  own  share),  and  scarcely  one  like  to  die 
of  it.  Among  other  Subjects  are  old  Mrs.  Craddock, 
Mrs.  Harry  Loyd  and  her  Sisters.  Every  body  of 
our  Acquaintance  has  had  Resolution,  except  Dr. 
Caner  and  Mrs.  G.  Deblois,  who  are  imprisoned  to- 
gether in  his  house,  while  her  younger  Children  are 
inoculating  at  home.  You  will  have  time  and  leave, 
I  doubt  not,  to  send  in  your  boys  for  it  in  the 
Spring.  At  present  I  hope  you  have  reason  to 
think  they  are  better  in  the  Country  upon  Coun- 
try fare.     Mr.  Anderson  gone  for  England  before 


232  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

he  heard  his  Vessel  from  Glasgow  was  taken  —  a 
Loss  he  will  not  regard  when  it  meets  him  in  the 
Bustle  of  London,  though  it  might  have  vexed  him 
on  the  passage  in  a  North  East  Wind.  .  .  . 

I  am  Your  most  affectionate  Father 

Jai^ies  Murray. 

Ten  o'clock. 

I  have  just  now  obtained  leave  to  see  you  on 
Monday  next  at  eleven  o' Clock,  if  the  weather  will 
permit ;  if  not,  on  the  first  fair  day  after  that  you 
can  travel.  Yours,  J.  M. 

Mrs.  Fisher,  with  whom  I  write  this  postscript,  is 
anxious  to  hear  of  or  from  her  father  and  mother  in 
your  Neighbourhood.     Bring  word  from  them. 

To  Mrs.  Forbes  at  Brush-bill,  Milton, 

to  be  left  at  tbe  late  Rev.  Mr.  Adams's 
Minister  of  Roxbury. 

Gage,  recalled  to  England,  had  sailed  away  from 
Boston,  as  the  next  letter  from  Mr.  Murray  relates, 
on  the  10th  of  October.  Before  he  left,  his  friends 
in  Boston  drew  up  an  address,  in  which  they  ex- 
pressed their  confidence  in  him  and  their  apprecia- 
tion of  his  services.  A  like  address  had  been  pre- 
sented to  Hutchinson  upon  his  departure  in  June, 
1774.  Thus  "  Addresser  of  Hutchinson  "  or  "  Ad- 
dresser of  Gage  "  came  to  be  a  descriptive  term  set 
against  certain  names,  in  lists  of  the  Tories.  James 
Murray  was  an  "Addresser "  of  Gage,^  Gilbert 
Deblois  of  Gage  and  Hutchinson,  both. 

*  He  would  naturally  have  been  among  the  addressers  of  Hutchin- 
son also,  though  he  is  not  so  recorded  by  Sabine. 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         233 

JAMES    MURRAY    TO   DOROTHY   FORBES   AND    ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

Boston,  January  lOtb,  1776. 

My  Dear  Children,  —  Betsey's  letter  to  Mrs. 
Butler  of  the  .  .  .  which  came  to  hand  yesterday, 
giving  such  good  Accounts  of  your  and  your  fam- 
ily's health  and  welfare,  makes  your  friends  in  town 
very  happy.  It  makes  some  amends  too  for  my  dis- 
appointment on  that  fine  day,  Thursday  the  28th 
past,  when  I  went  with  Mr.  Walter  to  your  Koxbury 
lines  in  hopes  of  seeing  you  and  his  Nieces.  He 
was  also  disappointed,  and  so  was  Mrs.  Loring, 
whose  maternal  fondness  carried  her  to  know  from 
you  about  her  Child.  It  would  be  kind  to  write  her 
at  times,  for  she  is  very  anxious.  And  when  you 
can,  without  giving  umbrage  to  your  Protectors,  or 
Suspicion  to  your  Neighbours,  obtain  leave  for 
another  Interview,  and  can  bring  with  you  as 
healthy  and  chearf  ul  Countenances  as  you  did  at  oiu* 
last,  your  very  looks  will  be  a  feast  to  your  old 
Father,  tho'  not  a  Word  pass. 

All  your  Friends  in  town,  without  exception,  are 
well  and  would  be  glad  to  hear  frequently  from  you, 
if  we  cannot  have  the  happiness  to  see  you.  We 
congratulate  you  on  your  acquisition  of  so  agreeable 
a  Companion  as  Miss  G[oldthwaite].  Her  philosoph- 
ical and  musical  turn  will  help  to  soothe  your  Cares 
and  beguile  the  Winter.  Mrs.  Hooper  will  enter- 
tain you  with  pleasant  stories  of  the  past,  and  your 
Resignation  and  good  Spirits  may  or  ought  to  sup- 
port your  hopes  of  the  future. 


234  JA]MES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

We  join  in  wishing  you,  your  family  and  the  rest 
of  our  ofood  neiofhbours  in  Milton  and  Dorchester  the 
Compliments  of  the  Season.  May  your  horses  be  in 
good  plight  to  be  social  with  them,  while  there  is 
fine  Sleighing.  No  word  yet  of  or  from  your  Cousin 
Anne,  tho'  she  sail'd  at  the  same  time  with  General 
Gage  on  the  10th  October — no  account  of  him 
neither. 

Gov-r.  Wentworth's  and  the  Lieut.  Governor's 
Ladies  are  going  home  with  their  famihes. 

Inclosed  is  a  letter  from  your  Aunt  Bennet. 
There  is  also  one  from  her  Sister,  but  it  is  illegible, 
I  cannot  send  it.  .  .  . 

There  are  now  letters  in  town  from  London  as  late 
as  the  26th  November.     Our  friends  were  arrived. 

The  winter  of  1775-6  dragged  itself  on  while 
Washington  waited  for  ammunition.  A  few  raids 
here  and  there  from  the  Americans  kept  the  British 
on  the  alert  for  an  attack;  yet  a  real  attack,  had 
they  known  it,  was  the  last  thing  they  needed  to  fear. 
But  Knox's  oxen  were  on  the  way.  Into  Cambridge 
they  plodded  at  last,  with  their  procession  of  sledges, 
a  "  noble  train  of  ammunition,"  dragged  through 
snowy  forests  and  over  frozen  rivers,  and  destined 
to  drive  out  of  Boston  not  only  Howe's  detested 
army,  but  also  to  render  homeless  many  of  the  most 
devoted  citizens  of  the  town. 

The  following  letter,  written  less  than  three 
weeks  before  the  cannon  were  planted  on  Dorches- 
ter Heights,  is  the  last  bearing  the  superscription 
"Boston." 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         235 

JAMES    MUKRAY    TO    DOROTHY   FORBES   AND   ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

Boston,  Feb.  14th,  1776. 

My  Dear  Children,  —  Finding  I  could  not  with 
propriety  ask  leave  to  go  to  the  Lines  yesterday,  as 
I  had  been  there  on  the  Thursday  before  and  as 
there  were  so  many  of  our  Town  folks  on  yester- 
day's party,  I  wrote  a  few  lines  to  send  out,  but 
these  through  my  Laziness  happened  not  to  be  in 
time.  When  I  heard  of  your  having  been  at  the 
Rendezvous,  I  was  grieved  for  my  having  been  so 
much  out  of  Luck.  Your  letter  of  the  13th,  which 
you  prudently  were  prepared  with,  made  me  no 
small  amends  for  my  Disappointment.  I  am 
charmed  that  you  have  the  happiness  of  getting 
Madam  and  Mrs.  Belcher  under  your  Roof.  You 
now  Hve  to  some  purpose,  indeed,  when  you  have  a 
house  and  hearts  for  an  Asylum  to  such  merit  in 
Distress.  If  any  Necessary  is  wanted  for  these 
Ladies  which  this  town  can  afford,  I  have  authority 
to  say  it  will  be  permitted  to  be  sent  out.  I  shall  not 
be  wanting  in  procuring  it,  and  I  know  from  your 
Experience  that  there  is  politeness  and  humanity 
enough,  on  your  Side,  to  secure  the  safe  deHvery. 

I  have  some  hopes  of  leave  to  be  at  your  Ren- 
dezvous at  the  usual  hour  on  Monday  next,  if  the 
weather  be  toUerable ;  if  not,  on  the  first  toUerable 
day,  for  we  must  not  talk  of  fine  and  fair  days  at 
this  Season.  .  .  . 

If  we  do  not  meet  on  Monday  or  the  first  fair 
day,  be  prepared,  as  you  were  last  time  and  as  I 


236  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

shall  be  if  I  go,  with  a  letter  about  anything  that 
occurs,  and  let  us  submit  them  in  time  to  inspec- 
tion, that  there  be  no  room  for  Suspicion.  .  .  . 

The  fortification  of  Dorchester  Heights  by  Wash- 
ington, while  it  was  a  surprise,  did  not  destroy  the 
confidence  of  the  Murrays  and  other  Tories  shut  up 
in  Boston  in  the  ability  of  the  British  army  to  take 
care  of  them.  When,  therefore,  the  boats  of  the 
British  were  scattered  by  the  storm,  the  enemy's 
works  declared  too  strong  to  be  carried,  and  the 
evacuation  of  Boston  pronounced  a  necessity,  the 
consternation  was  indescribable. 

Men  who  had  lived  all  their  lives  in  Boston  and 
were  part  and  parcel  of  it  found  themselves  sud- 
denly compelled  to  take  leave  of  friends,  old  asso- 
ciations, and  property,  and  to  fly  with  the  army  to 
Nova  Scotia. 

The  departure  of  Howe  was  hampered  and  delayed 
by  the  necessity  for  removing  these  loyalists.  All 
the  transports  that  were  at  hand,  assisted  by  such 
other  vessels  as  could  be  procured,  were  inadequate 
for  the  purpose.  The  refugees,  on  their  part,  were 
in  a  state  of  distraction  between  the  impossibility  of 
taking  with  them  more  than  a  small  part  of  their 
possessions,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  that  small 
part  carried  to  the  wharves.  Carts  of  all  kinds 
loaded  with  every  description  of  household  goods 
hurried  through  the  streets.  At  the  same  time  sol- 
diers who  had  plundered  deserted  mansions,  Tory 
or  Patriot,  bore  off  their  booty  by  broad  daylight 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTION-ART  BOSTON         237 

or  left  it  to  strew  the  streets.  Everywhere  the  dis- 
order was  extreme. 

Mr.  Murray,  Hke  the  rest,  had  no  recourse  but  to 
sail  for  Halifax  with  Howe.  The  Misses  Cummings 
and  probably  several  others  went  under  his  protec- 
tion ;  seven  persons  are  numbered  as  comprising 
his  fleeing  family.  His  farewell  letters,  if  he  wrote 
or  could  send  any,  have  not  been  preserved.  The 
parting  he  must  have  believed  to  be  only  temporary, 
but  it  was  final.  He  never  saw  his  sister  or  his 
children  again. 

Soon  after  the  evacuation,  Mrs.  Forbes  received  a 
letter  from  William  Hooper,  asking  for  information 
concerning  the  family.  As  Mr.  Murray  was  his 
uncle  by  marriage  and  had  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Hooper  and  her  other 
sons,  the  inquiry  was  but  natural. 

WILLIAM    HOOPER    TO    DOROTHY   FORBES. 

This,  My  dear  M"^^  Forbes,  is  addressed  to  you 
from  Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  where  I  now  am  on 
my  return  to  Carolina,  to  my  dear  dear  Annie  &  my 
little  Bantlings.  Long  e'er  this  had  I  wrote  you,  but 
partly  my  ingagements  in  publick  business,  in  a  great 
measure  Indisposition,  add  to  all  a  want  of  subject 
worthy  your  Attention,  conspired  to  prevent  it,  &  for 
your  comfort  have  hitherto  doomed  me  to  Silence. 
But  I  can  no  longer  forbear,  and  tho'  I  have  nothing 
but  the  trouble  of  perusing  it,  you  must,  as  you 
have  often  done  before,  submit  to  my  Impertinence. 
This  is  a  tax  you  must  pay  for  that  intimate  friend- 


238  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

ship  with  which  you  have  favoured  me,  &  if  I  err 
you  must  look  for  my  Apology  in  the  benevolence 
of  your  own  heart. 

I  am  extremely  anxious  to  know  what  change  the 
Alteration  of  the  state  of  Boston  has  produced  in 
your  Family  and  those  Connections  which  Blood 
Intimacy  have  nearly  allied  to  both  of  us.  Such 
are  the  Miseries  of  Civil  dissentions,  they  sever  the 
most  intimate  relations.  Affections  follow  diversity 
of  Sentiments,  &  we  hate  the  man  because  we  disap- 
prove his  pohtical  opinions.  Oh,  human  Nature 
what  a  motley  machine  art  thou  !  Heaven  made  thee 
in  thy  original  perfect,  but  left  the  use  of  thee  to  the 
discretion  of  the  Creature,  and  a  pretty  business  he 
makes  of  it.  Were  you  and  I  to  cast  a  look  back 
upon  the  happy  days  we  once  saw,  &  date  from  the 
period  of  our  Brush  Hill  festivity,  should  we  not  be 
apt  to  call  in  question  some  part  of  the  providential 
Arrangement,  &  pronounce  that  so  much  Mischief 
was  not  necessary  to  produce  general  good  ?  But  I 
am  willing  to  submit  hood  winked,  &  wrapped  in 
the  consciousness  of  divine  wisdom  judge  of  what 
is  mysterious  from  what  I  know,  and  appeal  to 
futurity  for  the  conviction  of  the  rectitude  of  the 
whole.  .  .  . 

A  Battle  has  been  fought  in  Carohna.  Success  has 
determined  in  favor  of  the  American  Cause,  a  Cause, 
my  dear  M"  Forbes,  which  I  hold  dear  as  my  Reli- 
gion, which  I  first  undertook  from  principle  &  which 
I  have  to  this  day  persisted  in  from  the  most  con- 
vincing sense  of  the  Justice  of  it.     Should  America 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  B0ST0:N"         239 

be  successful,  my  utmost  wishes  are  answered.  No 
sacrifice  that  I  can  make  can  be  too  valuable  a  con- 
sideration for  such  a  purchase.  My  own  personal 
misfortunes,  should  they  be  hereafter  crowded  upon 
me,  &  Heaven  should  mark  the  residue  of  my  Cup 
of  life  with  extreme  bitterness  —  all  my  misfortunes 
would  loose  their  pungency,  if  seasoned  with  the 
Consolatory  reflection  that  they  were  the  consequence 
of  my  Exertions  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  One  pain- 
ful Idea,  however,  will  ever  intrude  itself  upon  me, 
that  if  I  am  right,  my  friends,  my  Intimates,  my 
Relations  are  essentially  wrong,  &  errors  are  this 
day  more  than  speculative,  they  extend  to  prac- 
tice. .  .  . 

Whatever  may  be  your  or  my  political  Opinions, 
Our  friendship  has  had  an  origin  &  has  been 
cemented  by  offices  of  kindness  which  the  capri- 
ciousness  of  human  fortune  cannot  shock  or  alter. 
No,  let  the  Wreck  of  time  produce  what  it  will,  I 
shall  ever  treasure  you  among  my  first,  best  &  dear- 
est friends.  Blast  the  man  that  would  sully  the 
Connection.  I  wish  for  peace,  that  we  may  once 
more  under  our  own  Vines  &  Fig  trees  enjoy  the 
blessing  of  domestick  peace,  that  I  might  enjoy  in 
my  own  Cabin,  eat  my  Hogg  &  Hominee  without 
anything  to  make  me  afraid. 

My  Mother  and  Brother  have  my  warmest  Wishes 
for  their  Health  &  Happiness.  May  the  blessings 
of  Heaven  faU  on  that  Hand  which  has  so  often 
administered  to  them  comfort  as  you  have  done. 
When  I  write  you,  I  write  them.     I  feel  the  same 


240  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

tender  attachment  to  you  &  them.     Mention  me  to 

them  most  affectionately. 

Judge  of  my  anxiety  for  my  Annie,  Gov®  Martin 

lying  with  his  Ships   at  Dubois's  Mill,  the  battle 

fought  only   15    Miles   from   her.     Maclaine,  who 

married    Peggy    Dubois,    was   in    the   engagement 

&  fled.     He  is  taken  before  this.     I  feel  for  M" 

Dubois.     Pray  offer  my  most  affectionate  regards  to 

your  Sister.     Eemember  me  to  Miss  Kent,  to  all 

your  &  my  friends  who  care  any  thing  about  me. 

But  I  must  end  my  Scrawl.     I  write  in  a  Tavern 

in  a  Croud,  &  long  e're  this  have  exhausted  your 

patience.  Adieu,  my  dear  Dolly,  says 

Your  Sincere  friend 

W"  Hooper. 
Baltimore,  April  2, 1776. 

Write  me  under  Cover  to  Joseph  Hewes,  esquire, 
delegate  for  North  CaroHna  at  Philadelphia.^ 

After  the  evacuation  Mrs.  Inman  remained  in 
Boston.  Her  estate  in  Cambridge,  even  then  in  a 
ruinous  condition,  was  confiscated.  It  was  from 
her  house  in  town  that  Elizabeth  wrote  the  following 
letter.  Fortunately  the  threat  of  putting  it  out  of 
sight,  that  it  might  not  disgrace  her  memory  at  some 
future  day,  was  never  carried  out. 

^  William  Hooper  was  also  a  delegate,  and  was  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence. 


A  TOEY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         241 

ELIZABETH    MURRAY    TO    DOROTHY    FORBES. 

Boston,  Juue  11,  1776.     Tuesday  Afternoon, 
5  o'clock,  not  Dressed. 

Dear  Sister  —  Fenwick  carries  you  a  Barrel  of 
Rum,  which  is  26/  the  Gallon.  Miss  Goldthwaite 
proposes  being  with  you  to-morrow  or  Thursday 
morninof.  She  came  to  town  last  nio-ht.  I  would 
wiUingly  give  you  the  Adventures  of  yesterday,  if  I 
thought  I  should  do  them  justice.  The  strong  im- 
pressions they  have  made  upon  me  renders  me  in- 
capable of  it.  In  short  nothing  before  or  since  the 
Black  Cat  has  ever  thrown  me  into  greater  agitation 
of  Spirits  than  the  scenes  I  passed  through  yester- 
day ;  and,  as  your  curiosity  may  be  a  little  icsited, 
I  will  inform  you  that  not  many  minutes  after  my 
Aunt  set  out  for  B-Hill  Prudence^  came  running 
upstairs  and  asked  if  I  had  resolution  to  see  the 
unhappy  people  you  have  heard  of,  to  which  I  an- 
swered in  the  affirmitive,  and  set  out  immediately 
for  Madam  Apthorp's  house,  the  Garden^  of  which 
looks  into  the  jail  yard.  When  we  arrived  there 
Mrs.  Snow  conducted  us  to  the  fence,  where  we  could 
see  them  and  hear  them  speak,  but  not  converse  with 
them.  We  soon  left  her  and  went  up  toward  the 
common.  A  number  of  the  Common  Soldiers  of 
the  Highlanders  passed  us  with  a  gaurd.  I  re- 
greted  not  speaking,  so  I  turned  about  and  persued 

1  Prudence  Middleton,  one  of  Mr.  Smith's  nieces.  The  High- 
landers, of  whom  she  spoke,  had  recently  been  captured  on  board  a 
transport  in  Boston  Harbor. 

^  This  garden  covered  what  is  now  Pemberton  Square.  —  S.  I.  L. 


242  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

as  fast  as  my  feet  in  high  heeled  shoes  would  carry 
me.  Vain  was  the  attempt,  and  we  concluded  it 
was  best  to  return  in  hopes  of  meeting  more  when 
we  turned  about,  and  what  was  [our]  surprize  to  see 
four  Officers  with  a  gaurd.  Prudence  had  told  me 
the  Duchess  of  Gordon's  Brother  (whose  name  I 
knew  to  be  Maxwell)  was  a  Prisoner.  That,  and  the 
great  anxiety  I  was  in  for  our  Uncle,  occasioned  a 
wish  to  speak  to  them.  The  first  three  I  had  not 
resolution  to  stop,  but  went  up  to  the  last  and  asked 
the  favor  of  being  answered  one  question,  and  with 
a  faultering  Voice  asked  if  the  first  Battalion  was 
come  out  to  America.  All  the  Gentlemen  turned 
round  when  I  stopt  the  last.  They  informed  [me] 
that  Kegiment  was  in  England  and  to  remain  there. 
Joyful  sound  it  was  to  me.  Still  trembling  so  as 
to  be  incapable  of  supporting  myself  without  Pru- 
dence's assistance,  I  asked  if  either  of  them  Gen- 
tlemen were  Capt.  Maxwell.  A  lovely  Youth,  who 
appeared  to  be  about  twenty,  Bowed  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  that  name.  I  enquired  for  his  Mother  and 
Sisters,  who  he  told  me  he  left  well  in  Scotland 
six  weeks  ago.  Here  my  voice  failed,  and  we  all 
remained  in  silence  for  the  space  of  a  minute  and 
parted  without  another  word.  'T  is  in  vain  to 
attempt  a  discription  of  my  emotions,  at  that  mo- 
ment. We  went  on,  and  they  went  to  the  jail  to 
take  leave  of  their  Men,  who  are  to  be  sent  back  into 
the  Country  to  work  for  their  living  and,  it  is  ex- 
pected, will  join  the  American  Army.  This  sepera- 
tion  they  say  is  very  painful  to  the  men,  who  are 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         243 

still  in  this  town  .  .  .  Prudence  and  I  walked 
through  the  different  Streets  in  hopes  of  having  one 
more  view  of  these  unfortunate  Youths  (who  are 
none  of  them  thirty  years  of  age),  when,  in  turning 
up  School  street  by  the  King's  Chapel,  we  met  some 
of  the  Gaurded  just  come  from  the  jail  to  bid  their 
Men  Adieu.  Distress  appeared  in  their  Counti- 
nences.  Prudence  and  I  determined  not  to  speak  a 
second  time,  but  when  we  came  up  to  them  they  all 
stopt,  and  Maxwell  drew  near  and  enquired  if  I  knew 
his  Mother  and  Sisters,  to  which  I  answered  I  had 
been  frequently  in  company  with  them  in  Eden- 
borough.  I  asked  him  in  return  if  he  knew  Lady 
Don's  family  and  if  they  were  well,  which  he  told 
me  they  were.  With  almost  my  former  agitation^  I 
wished  them  health  and  Happiness,  and  they  soon 
after  set  out  in  Paddack's  Coach  and  four  for  Con- 
cord, where  they  are  to  stay.  If  you  receive  any 
pleasure  from  this  stupid  incorrect  scroll  you  de- 
serve it  for  the  trouble  of  decyphering  it.  As  soon 
as  I  get  home  I  shall  make  it  my  business  to  search 
for  it  and  put  it  out  of  sight,  that  it  may  not  dis- 
grace my  memory  in  some  future  day.  I  am  certain 
the  account  of  my  Uncle  will  make  you  happy,  so 
't  is  no  matter  if  you  are  put  to  a  little  trouble  in 
perusing  of  it.  Kiss  Bennet  for  me,  and  tell  hun  I 
do  not  forget  that  this  is  his  Birthday,  and  shall  say 
quietly  to  myself  in  the  first  glass  of  wine  I  drink 
at  Dr.   LovelFs  this  evening  ^*  God  help  him,  and 

1  They  had  agitations  in  those  days,  but  were  mercifully  saved 
from  nervous  prostration.  —  S.  I.  L. 


244  JAIVIES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

make  him  a  Good  Man,  and  Grant  that  he  may  never 
be  a  Prisoner." 

Some  additional  bits  of  information  concerning 
the  changed  aspect  of  the  farm  at  Cambridge  and 
the  dangers  escaped  by  that  of  Brush  Hill  are  fur- 
nished by  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Barnes  whose  initals,  E.  F., 
do  not  further  reveal  her  identity. 

E.    F.    TO   MRS.  BARNES. 

Cambridge,  April  17th. 

Now,  my  dearest  Aunt,  I  take  my  pen  with  some 
spirit,  for  certainly  it  cannot  be  long  before  I  shall 
not  only  have  an  opportunity  of  sending  my  letters, 
but  also  hearing  of  you. 

Such  amazing  overturnings  have  taken  place  since 
I  wrote  the  above,  that  I  am  at  a  loss  how  to  express 
my  astonishment  You  will,  no  doubt,  long  before 
this  reaches  you,  hear  that  the  King's  troops  have 
[evacuated]  the  town.  I  have  been  twice  there. 
Good  God !  What  a  scene  —  deserted  by  almost  all 
I  ever  loved  or  knew.  Mrs.  Inman  still  remains 
among  us,  a  public  blessing.  From  her  faithful 
and  friendly  hands  I  received  your  watch,  and  guard 
it  as  the  relick  of  my  Saint.  Indeed  I  needed  no- 
thing to  recal  your  dear  idea.  Every  new  scene  too 
fatally  convinces  me  of  the  melancholy  change  one 
twelve  month  has  produced,  not  only  in  my  present 
situation,  but  further  prospects,  sad  reverse,  indeed  ! 
When  will  Peace  with  all  her  smiling  train  descend 
and  chase  the  savage  passions  from  this  wretched 
country  ? 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         245 

The  wanton  destruction  that  presents  itself  to  my 
view  wherever  I  turn  my  eyes  show  in  the  most 
lively  colors  of  civil  war  ruin  and  desolation  spread 
through  the  peaceful  vales  of  industry,  and  such 
enmity  planted  between  children  of  the  same  parents 
as  can  never  be  got  the  better  of,  and  will  not  yield 
to  time.  You  will  see  by  the  date  of  my  letter  where 
I  am,  but  you  can  form  no  idea  of  my  situation. 
Only  imagine  to  yourself  two  unhappy  females,  from 
some  high  misdemeanor  driven  from  the  Society  of 
the  world  and  every  social  pleasure  into  a  wilderness 
surrounded  not  by  wild  beasts,  but  savage  men,  and 
destitute  of  the  conveniences  of  life.  Do  this, 
and  it  will  fall  short  in  many  respects  of  showing 
our  present  situation,  which  is  no  more  nor  less  than 
this,  that  Miss  Murray  and  I  are  in  Mr.  Inman's 
house,  just  as  it  was  left  by  the  soldiery,  without 
any  one  necessary  about  us,  except  a  bed  to  lodge 
on  &  Patrick  for  a  protector  &  servant,  in  constant 
fear  that  some  outrage  will  be  committed  if  it  is 
once  discovered  that  one  of  us  is  connected  with 
Mr.  Inman,  to  prevent  which  everything  is  done  in 
my  name,  and  as  soon  as  it  is  convenient  I  am  go- 
ing to  let  the  farm  and  take  a  family  into  one  end  of 
the  house.  You  would  really  be  diverted,  could  you 
give  a  peep  when  Mrs.  Inman  visits  us  (which  is  as 
often  as  she  possibly  can),  to  see  Betsey  &  I  resign- 
ing our  broken  chairs  &  teacups,  and  dipping  the 
water  out  of  an  iron  skellet  into  the  pot  as  cheerfully 
as  if  we  were  using  a  silver  urn. 

I  cannot  tell  what  it  is  owing  to,  unless  it  is  see- 


246  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

ing  Mrs.  I. in  such  charming  spirits,  that  pre- 
vents our  being  truly  miserable.  Tell  her  friends  in 
England  not  to  lament  her  being  in  America  at  this 
period,  for  she  is  now  in  her  proper  element,  having 
an  opportunity  of  exerting  her  benevolence  for  those 
who  have  neither  Spirits  or  abihty  to  do  for  them- 
selves. No  (other)  woman  could  do  as  she  does 
with  impunity,  for  she  is  above  the  Httle  fears  and 
weaknesses  which  are  the  inseparable  companions  of 
most  of  our  sex.  One  would  imagine  to  see  her 
that  all  was  peace  and  harmony.  God  grant  it  may 
be. 

Tell  Mrs  Powell  (for  we  have  fixed  you  at  Nor- 
wich) if  she  was  with  us,  we  might  put  into  exe- 
cution that  plan  of  life  we  projected  together,  and 
where  it  was  wanting  in  reahty  we  could  make  up  in 
imagination.  Oh  !  that  imagination  could  replace 
the  wood  lot,  the  willows  round  the  pond,  the  locust- 
trees  that  so  dehghtfully  ornamented  and  shaded 
the  roads  leading  to  this  farm.  I  say,  could  imagi- 
nation supply  the  place  of  those  to  the  former  pos- 
sessor, how  happy  —  but  in  vain  to  wish  it,  every 
beauty  of  art  or  nature,  every  elegance  which  it  cost 
years  of  care  and  toil  in  bringing  to  perfection,  is  laid 
low.  It  looks  hke  an  unfrequented  desert,  and  this 
farm  is  an  epitome  of  all  Cambridge,  the  loveliest 
village  in  America. 

April  25th. 
Mrs.  Inman,  who  does  every  thing  to  render  our 
situation  agreable  to  us,  yesterday  carried  us  abroad 
to  dine  with  a  large  company,  that  did  us  the  honor 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         247 

to  return  and  drink  tea  with  us.  Among  the 
number  was  Mrs.  Temple  and  her  three  sweet 
daughters,  for  the  lovely  Fanny  is  no  more.  I  am 
sure  it  would  have  grieved  you  to  see  her,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  have  recollected  her  station  in  life, 
the  distresses  this  war  has  involved  her  in,  and  the 
fortitude  with  which  she  has  borne  them.  Mr. 
Temple  absent,  the  farm,  her  only  dependence  I  be- 
Heve,  almost  entirely  destroyed,  and  there  was  she 
and  the  young  ladies  with  all  the  innocent  cheerful- 
ness you  can  conceive  of  — 

"  Like  the  gay  birds  that  sing  them  to  repose 
Content  and  careless  of  to-morrow's  fate." 

They  sang  ^'  Plato's  Advice,"  which  was  so  appH- 
cable  to  our  situation,  and  indeed  every  one's  at 
present,  that  it  seemed  to  diffuse  the  serenity  they 
enjoyed  throughout  the  company,  and  I  must  say 
for  myself  I  never  felt  anything  more  sensibly  in 
my  life.  She  has  promised  to  send  for  us  one  day 
next  week  to  Ten  Hills.  I  am  sure  it  will  be  an 
agreable  day,  and  not  without  many  moral  lessons. 

May  7th. 

Since  I  wrote  last  Miss  Betsey  and  I  have  walked 
to  Boston  and  brought  Miss  Middleton  out  with  us, 
who  spent  several  days  here,  received  a  morning 
visit  from  Mrs.  Temple  and  her  niece,  and  spent  a 
day  at  Ten  Hills.  Mrs.  Fenton  and  her  family  are 
all  there,  and  Mr.  William  Temple,  who  is  just  ar- 
rived from  London.  Mrs.  Fenton  gave  me  several 
interesting  particulars  relative  to  your  situation  while 


248  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

in  Boston,  and  likewise  that  she  brought  out  a  let- 
ter for  Mrs.  Bridgen  with  one  annexed  for  me.  I 
shall  not  be  easy  till  I  receive  it,  and  intend  going 
to  Boston  for  that  purpose  immediately.  Indeed, 
my  dear  Aunt,  if  you  could  imagine  what  pleasure 
a  letter  from  you  inspires  me  with,  you  would  write 
even  in  London.  If  it  were  not  for  that  I  would 
throw  away  my  pen. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  calamities  that  surround 
us,  we  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful  that  the 
seat  of  war  is  removed.  God  grant  a  speedy  conclu- 
sion !  Mr.  Temple's  opinion  seems  to  favor  my 
wishes.  The  talking  politicians  this  side  the  Hues 
are  struck  dumb  by  this  last  mandate  of  Govern- 
ment. But  stop,  my  pen,  nor  dare  to  stray  into  a 
subject  which  is  surrounded  with  danger  and  diffi- 
culty. No  doubt  you  will  hear  poor  Betsey  LiddeU 
is  a  widow.  I  have  a  thousand  trifling  afPairs  to 
inform  you  of,  but  fear  swelling  the  size  of  my 
letter  too  much,  so  will  bid  adieu  for  the  present. 
Affectionate  regards  to  my  little  Chrissy. 

Brush  Hill,  May  17. 
My  DEAREST  Aunt,  —  This  amiable  family  are 
going  to  be  involved  in  new  troubles.  Did  I  fear 
for  myself  alone,  I  should  be  happy  compared  with 
what  I  now  suffer,  for  I  have  nothing  to  fear  from 
the  malevolence  of  man,  and  Physical  evils  must  be 
patiently  submitted  to ;  but  when  I  see  the  few  but 
valuable  friends  I  have  remaining  upon  the  point 
of  becoming  destitute  like  myself,  my  heart  sinks 


A  TORY  m  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         249 

witliin  me,  and  I  cannot  avoid  exclaiming,  Great 
God !  surely  for  all  these  things  the  people  shall 
be  brought  to  judgment.  I  am  hunted  from  one 
retreat  to  another,  and  since  I  left  your  Ark,  like 
Noah's  Dove,  can  find  no  resting  place.  The  Com- 
mittee at  Cambridge  have  let  Mrs.  Inman's  farm  in 
spite  of  all  her  asseduity  to  prevent  it,  and  the  same 
tribe  of  Demons  have  been  to  take  this  into  posses- 
sion dui*mg  the  life  of  Mr.  Murray.  How  unhappy 
would  that  goodman  be  if  he  had  any  knowledge  of 
it !  I  hope  he  will  remain  in  ignorance  as  long  as  it 
conduces  to  his  tranquiHty.  When  this  affair  will 
end  God  knows  !  At  present  the  people  succeed  in 
everything.  I  am  sure  Mrs.  Inman's  spirits  will 
forsake  her  when  she  finds  this  family  is  in  so  much 
trouble.  I  have  been  disappointed  in  everything 
since  my  last  writing.  Even  the  letter  I  was  in 
pursuit  of  Mrs.  Bridgen  never  received,  to  her  great 
mortification.  I  hope,  as  it  is  missing,  it  is  of  no 
great  consequence. 

Nature  is  all  blooming  and  benevolent  around  us. 
I  wish  to  Heaven  she  could  inspu-e  the  breasts  of 
this  deluded  people  with  the  same  affectionate  glow 
towards  each  other !  but  every  social  vu-tue  seems 
to  have  taken  flight  with  peace  to  happier  regions, 
and  left  us  miserable  mortals  involved  in  clouds  and 
darkness,  without  one  cheerful  ray  to  point  the  way 
to  happiness.  May  eternal  curses  fall  on  the  heads 
of  those  who  have  been  instrumental  to  this  coun- 
try's ruin. 


250  JAJVIES  MURKAY,  LOYALIST 

Marlborough,  June  9*^,  1776. 
My  dearest  Aunt,  —  Business  has  made  it  ne- 
cessary that  I  should  once  more  visit  a  place  to  which 
I  thought  I  had  bid  a  last  adieu.  It  is  now  three 
months  since  I  have  heard  one  word  of  Boyd,  or 
those  effects  deposited  in  his  hands,  &  I  made  no 
doubt  in  that  time  he  had  had  frequent  opportuni- 
ties of  conveying  them  either  to  me  or  Mr.  Clark, 
if  he  meant  honestly.  Whichever  that  is  the  case 
or  not.  Heaven  knows.  He  still  refuses  giving 
them  to  me,  declaring  it  is  not  in  his  power.  Capt. 
Davis  is  of  a  contrary  opinion,  but  what  can  be  said 
or  done  in  times  like  these,  that  authorize  every 
species  of  injustice?  I  told  him  I  did  not  think 
it  would  be  in  my  power  to  take  another  journey, 
and  as  Mr.  Clark  was  my  Uncle's  attorney  I  would 
advise  him,  when  he  could  with  convenience,  to  put 
them  in  his  possession,  and  he  (Boyd)  should  be 
rewarded  for  his  trouble.  He  replied  with  an  air 
of  indifference  that  he  should  like  to  give  them  to 
the  right  owner,  though  he  does  not  seem  inclined 
to  take  one  step  for  that  purpose,  and  I  dare  say 
thinks  he  has  as  good  a  right  to  it  as  any  one.  I 
have  been  here  since  Tuesday,  and  shall  go  to-mor- 
row at  sunrise,  for  you  can  easily  imagine  that  there 
is  nothing  in  this  place  that  can  induce  me  to  stay 
a  day  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  Yester- 
day I  took  a  walk  to  the  Distil  house,  which  is  now 
turned  into  Salt  Petre  works,  and  from  being  the 
Pool  of  Bethesda  is  made  use  of  to  manufacture  a 
commodity  for  the  destruction  of  the  human  species. 


A  TORY  IN  KEVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         251 

All  your  furniture  removed  over  to  the  shop  cham- 
ber, except  the  family  pictures,  which  still  hang  in 
the  Blue  Koom,  &  the  Harpsichord  that  stands  in 
the  passage  way,  to  be  abused  by  the  children  and 
servants  in  passing  through.  Mr.  Knox  found  it 
inconvenient  to  be  moving  furniture,  so  has  taken 
nothing  but  the  Linnen,  which  at  this  juncture  is 
by  far  the  most  valuable  part.  I  find  my  fears 
on  that  head  were  not  groundless,  &  I  suppose  the 
pretense  of  my  Uncle's  making  an  exchange  was 
a  piece  of  chicanery  in  order  to  succeed  without 
opposition.  Katy  Keyes  lives  in  Worcester,  Lavinia 
with  her  sister,  and  Daphney  is  to  remain  in  Capt. 
Davis'  family  till  the  town  is  entirely  free  from  the 
infection  of  the  Small  Pox.  She  appears 'very  grate- 
ful that  her  son  is  left  behind,  and  intends  keeping 
house  with  him  when  she  leaves  this  family.  Adieu  ! 
May  every  present  and  future  good  be  constant  and 
faithful  attendants  on  you  &  my  dear  Uncle,  and 
sometimes  think  on  your  unhappy  niece,  who  now 
bids  farewell  to  this  place  forever. 

Brush  Hill,  June  16'". 

Rejoice  with  me,  my  dear  Aunt,  this  infernal 
crew  cannot  succeed  in  taking  the  farm  from  this 
amiable  family.  The  Almighty  Father  of  infinite 
perfection  will  not  permit  them  to  prosper  in  all  their 
wickedness,  but  bounds  their  power,  and  shields 
the  virtuous  from  the  threatened  blow.  May  it  be 
so  to  the  end,  and  may  our  rulers  ever  be  able  to 
discriminate  between  those  who  have  acted  from  a 


252  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

well  meant  but  perhaps  deluded  &  false  notion  of 
serving  their  country  and  those  who  have  nothing 
further  in  view  than  to  pull  down  all  above  them  to 
their  own  level.  Oh  Heavens !  how  I  msh  for  a 
final  period  to  this  dreadful  contest,  and  yet  dread 
the  insolence  of  Victory.  I  insensibly  wander  into 
a  subject  I  ought  to  avoid,  but  you  cannot  wonder, 
as  it  so  nearly  effects  not  only  myself  but  every 
individual  this  side  the  Atlantic.  It  is  reported  here 
that  Gen.  Burgoyne  is  crossing  the  Lake  with  a  vic- 
torious army  &  that  the  poor  remains  of  the  Amer- 
ican Army  have  retreated  to  Ticonderoga,  after 
having  encountered  dangers  &  difficulties  that  can 
be  only  equalled  by  Hannibal  passing  the  Alps.  If 
it  might  be  productive  of  Peace  I  should  rejoice. 
The  Small  pox  is  again  going  through  the  town  of 
Boston,  and  people  are  as  solicitous  now  to  have  as 
formerly  to  fly  from  this  dreadful  distemper.  You 
vnW  easily  believe  this  when  I  tell  you  the  three 
Miss  Barkers  are  now  under  inoculation.  I  hope 
they  will  have  more  to  show  for  it  than  you  & 
Chrissey,  as  I  greatly  fear,  from  the  account  Mrs. 
Inman  gives  me,  you  will  both  run  the  risk  of  catch- 
ing it  in  the  natural  way.  All  Capt.  Davis'  family 
are  in  town,  and  Daphney  among  the  rest.  Mrs. 
Forbes'  little  ones  are  at  Mrs.  Inman's,  and  Tom 
Swan,  Jr.,  with  Miss  Polly  Speakman  to  take  care 
of  him.  You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  melancholy 
situation  of  Madam  &  Mrs.  Belcher.  They  left 
Brush  Hill  with  a  design  of  building  immediately, 
instead  of  which  [no]  materials  nor  workmen  are  to 


A  TORY  IN  REVOLUTIONARY  BOSTON         253 

be  procured,  and  they  are  under  a  necessity  of 
making  use  of  their  out  houses  to  shelter  them  from 
the  weather  ;  the  coach  house  is  their  dining  room, 
and  Fowl  house  their  bed-chamber,  but  the  old  lady 
looks  majestic  even  there,  and  dresses  with  as  much 
elegance  as  if  she  was  in  a  palace.  Mrs.  Belcher  has 
all  along  supported  her  spirits  to  a  marvel,  but  now 
her  health  is  so  bad,  her  friends  think  her  far  gone 
in  a  consumption  ;  but  age  has  so  far  befriended  the 
old  Lady  that  notwithstanding  Mrs.  Belcher  has  ever 
shone  in  the  character  of  a  daughter,  and  been  a 
faithful  prop  to  her  declining  years,  she  views  her 
approaching  dissolution  with  less  agitation  than 
she  beheld  the  flames  consuming  her  house.  Miss 
Winslow  is  with  them  still,  and  their  distresses  are 
so  great  that  they  have  disposed  of  their  plate  to 
purchase  necessaries.  Adieu,  my  dear  Aimt.  I  do 
not  intend  to  take  my  pen  again  till  I  have  a  pro- 
spect of  either  hearing  from  you,  or  forwarding  my 
letters. 

Sept.  25'^ 

At  length,  my  dearest  Aunt,  the  long  wished  for 
moment  is  arrived  that  presents  an  opportunity  for 
sending  my  letters.  Mrs.  Fenton  is  going  home  to 
England  in  a  vessel  that  has  obtained  leave  from 
those  in  power,  and  unless  detained  by  the  populace, 
who  are  more  variable  than  the  winds,  will  sail  in  a 
few  days.  There  is  very  great  news  from  New 
York,  which  I  imagine  you  have  more  authentic 
accounts  of  than  we  have.  Mr.  Bob  Temple  is 
expected  in  town  in  a  few  days,  by  whom  I  flatter 


254  JA]VIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

myself  I  shall  hear  particularly  from  you,  if  I  have 
no  letters.  ...  I  have  perused  what  I  wrote  at  dif- 
ferent times,  and  think  I  have  been  sufficiently  cau- 
tious, and  as  particular  as  I  can  be  in  everything  I 
thought  you  would  wish  to  know,  and  when  the 
present  distraction  of  the  times  is  subsided  I  promise 
myself  the  pleasure  of  a  journal  of  all  the  maneu- 
vers and  occurrences,  or  if  you  think  the  request 
too  unreasonable  make  Christy  your  amanuensis. 
It  will  be  a  high  gratification  to  me,  and  I  shall 
endeavour  by  every  method  in  my  power  to  make 
her  some  compensation  for  the  trouble.  .   .   . 

Pray  give  my  affectionate  duty  to  my  Uncle. 
Love  to  Christy  and  all  my  American  acquaintances 
you  may  meet  with  on  the  other  side  of  the  water. 
Miss  Betsey  Barker  &  her  niece  Sally  have  been 
here  for  several  days.  The  latter  is  writing  to  you 
at  the  other  end  of  the  table,  so  it  will  be  needless 
for  me  to  give  you  an  account  of  their  family,  which 
I  dare  say  she  intends  doing  herself.  Mrs.  Forbes  & 
Miss  Murray  join  me  in  every  tender  wish  for  your 
happiness,  that  you  may  again  be  restored  to  your 
native  country,  to  your  friends,  and  above  all  to  the 
arms  of  your  dutiful  niece. 

All  friends  well. 

Jan.  1777.  Your  E.  F. 


CHAPTER  V 

IN   EXILE 
1776-1781 

Now  began  for  James  Murray  the  weary  life 
of  banishment,  the  pathos  of  which  was  so  many 
times  repeated  in  the  history  of  the  Revolutionary 
exiles. 

He  went  first  to  Halifax,  then  an  extremely  prim- 
itive settlement,  where  he  estabhshed  his  wife  with 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Gordon,  who  had  preceded  them. 
But  he  could  not  be  content  to  stay  so  far  from  his 
sister  and  children,  and  soon,  as  he  puts  it,  he  came 
"  creeping  toward  "  them,  hoping  at  least  to  be  able 
more  easily  to  communicate  with  them  and  to  serve 
them  by  sending  occasional  supplies.  He  visited 
Newport,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia.  Evidently, 
however,  he  found  himself  no  nearer  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  wishes  in  New  York  than  in  Halifax, 
and  to  Halifax  in  1778,  after  some  two  years  spent 
in  profitless  wandering,  he  returned.  There  he  re- 
mained for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

His  letter  from  New  York  is  short  and  non-com- 
mittal. 


256  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

JAMES   ^lUKRAY  TO   ELIZABETH   DTMAN,  DOROTHY 
FORBES,  AND   ELIZABETH   MURRAY. 

New  York,  November  7th,  1776. 

My  Dear  Sister  and  Children,  —  ...  I  am 
.  .  .  glad  of  this  opportunity  to  acquaint  you  of  my 
health  and  Welfare  and  of  my  Intention  of  creeping 
toward  you  with  the  first  fit  Conveyance,  which  it  is 
still  hoped  will  happen  before  Christmass.  Some 
Refugees  of  us  have  now  fixt  in  Quarters  about  five 
or  six  miles  from  New  York,  where  we  live  very 
quiet  and  retired,  well  supphed  with  the  necessaries 
of  Life,  much  more  comfortably  than  we  could  be  at 
Halifax.  There  your  Sister  and  Servants  remain  in 
her  own  house  for  the  Winter. 

The  Capt.,  Mrs.  Linzee  and  Children,  lately  re- 
turned to  this  harbour,  are  all  well,  and  so  is  George,^ 
now  an  Ensign  in  the  17th  Regiment  much  esteem'd 
in  the  Army. 

I  had  the  happiness  of  hearing  that  Mr.  Inman, 
you  Ladies  and  the  boys  were  all  well  in  September. 
A  Mr.  Campbell,  who  came  with  Mr.  Reid  from 
Boston,  brought  this  word. 

By  the  last  Accounts  from  St.  Augustine,  Mr. 
Forbes  and  Son  were  well.  He  is  appointed  Chief 
Justice,  for  the  time,  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Drayton, 
whom  the  Governor  has  Suspended  and  who  is  gone 
to  England  with  Doctor  Turnbull.  Remember  me 
sincerely  to  Brother  Inman  and  be  assured  that  I  am 
Most  affectionately  yours. 

1  George  Inman,  son  of  Ralph  Inman. 


ELIZABETH    MURRAY   (MRS.    ROF.RIXS) 


IX  EXILE  257 

From  another  exile,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  then  in 
London,  Mr.  Murray  had  received  an  interesting 
letter  ^  which  emphasizes  Hutchinson's  affection  for 
his  country,  as  he  always  called  America,  and  is,  in 
sentiment,  quite  indicative  of  Mr.  Murray's  own  feel- 
ings on  the  subject  of  the  war. 

THOMAS   HUTCHINSON   TO   JAMES   MURRAY. 

London,  New  Bond  Street,  March  3,  1777. 
Dear  Sir,  —  I  thank  you  for  a  very  obliging 
letter  of  the  12th  January  from  Newport.  It  gave 
me  pleasure  to  reflect  that  I  had  wrote  to  you,  some 
weeks  before  the  receipt  of  your  letters,  to  New 
York.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  have  met  with 
no  more  difficulties  since  you  left  Boston.  I  have 
advantages  here  beyond  most  of  the  Americans,  as 
I  have  a  very  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  best 
people  ;  but  I  prefer  the  7iatale  solum  to  all  other : 
and  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  hear  you  are 
peaceably  settled  at  Brush-hill,  and  that  I  may  settle 
as  peaceably  on  Unkity  Hill.  I  hope  to  live  to  see 
not  only  my  Milton  neighbors,  but  the  people  of  the 
Province  in  general,  convinced  that  I  have  ever  sin- 
cerely aimed  at  their  true  interest ;  and  that,  if  they 
had  followed  my  advice,  they  would  have  been  free 
from  all  that  distress  and  misery  which  the  envious, 
restless  spirits  of  a  few  designing  men  have  brought 
upon  them. 

I  have  been  charged  in  America  with  false  and 
unfavorable  representations  of  the  people  there.     I 
1  Now  printed  in  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc.  vol.  v.  [1860-1862]. 


258  JA]VIES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

am  charged  here  with  neglecting  to  give  advice  of 
their  intentions  to  revolt,  and  representing  the  body 
of  the  people  as  disposed  to  live  quietly  under  the 
authority  of  Parliament,  and  to  take  no  exception  to 
any  other  acts  than  those  of  taxation,  which  I  ever 
endeavored  to  discourage.  .  .  . 

I  am  obliged  to  you  for  inquiring  into  the  State  of 
my  farm  on  Conanicut.  I  had  been  improving  it  by 
fencing,  planting,  &c,  for  near  forty  years ;  but  all 
my  labor  is  lost.  And  I  fear  my  estate  in  Milton  is 
not  in  much  better  order.  At  least  eleven  hundred 
pounds  sterling  was  taken  out  of  my  house,  and  off 
the  farm,  in  movables.  I  know  not  how  to  obtain 
redress.  .  .  . 

I  say  nothing  about  public  affairs,  nor  do  I  con- 
cern myself  with  them :  nor  am  I  ever  inquired  of 
or  consulted  about  them ;  and  I  am  glad  I  am  not. 
It  is  astonishing,  considering  the  immense  expense 
of  this  war,  and  the  stop  put  to  the  American  trade, 
that  nobody  seems  to  feel  it.  Every  merchant  and 
manufacturer,  except  a  few  who  were  factors  for 
America,  are  as  full  of  business  as  ever ;  and,  in 
the  manufacturing  towns,  they  are  fuller  of  business, 
from  the  increase  of  demand  in  other  branches,  than 
before  the  American  War.  With  this  amazing^  em- 
pire  it  is  the  unhappy  case  of  my  poor  country  to 
contend.  May  God  Almighty,  in  mercy,  put  an 
end  to  this  contest !  Your  brother's  family  is  well. 
Adieu  !  I  am  y'"  faithful,  humble  serv' 

T.  H. 

James  Murray,  Esquire,  of  Milton, 
in  Mass.  Bay.     At  Newport,  R.  I. 


IN  EXILE  259 

The  Barneses,  too,  wrote  to  Mr.  Murray.  They 
had  fled  to  England  and  were  among  the  notable 
group  of  loyalists  settled  in  Bristol.^  Their  pro- 
perty in  Marlborough  was  confiscated,  their  house- 
hold goods  scattered.  Limited  in  means,  but  still 
possessed  of  irrepressibly  cheerful  spirits,  Mrs. 
Barnes  continued  at  intervals  to  write  to  her  friends 
amusing  accounts  of  her  domestic  doings  and  of  the 
society  in  which  she  moved.^     But,  as  her  path  was 

^  Their  first  home  was  in  Cannon's  Marsh,  Bristol.  Afterward 
they  removed  to  King  Street,  where  they  had  a  "grand  old  edifice," 
from  which  could  be  seen  "  the  Play  House,  the  Assembly  House, 
the  Merchants  Hall  and  the  Merchants  Library." 

2  On  April  1st,  1786,  she  wrote  to  the  Misses  Barker  :  "  Wee  have 
seventeen  American  familys  in  Bristol,  very  Genteel  well  bred  Peo- 
ple, all  of  one  heart,  and  one  mind.  In  this  circle  we  are  treeted 
with  Cordiality  and  respect,  being  quite  upon  a  footing  with  them  in 
the  stile  of  Yissiting  which  is  no  more  than  Tea  and  cards  —  a  little 
parade  (to  be  sure)  is  nessisary  upon  these  ocations  in  order  to  keep 
up  the  Ball,  but  as  it  is  not  attended  with  much  Expence  we  readily 
consent  to  follow  the  Lead."  One  more  extract  may  be  given  as  an 
aside.  It  is  from  a  letter  of  hers  written  to  the  Misses  Barker  on 
September  5th,  1786,  some  time  after  Mrs.  Inman's  death  :  "  Spent 
some  part  of  yesterday  in  foolishly  endeavoring  to  decorate  my  sweet 
person,  being  engaged  to  a  rout  at  Mrs.  Maud's.  Before  this  busi- 
ness of  importance  was  over,  it  began  to  rain  ;  this  did  not  put  a  stop 
to  my  proceeding,  for  as  hackney  coaches  and  chairs  are  always  to  be 
had,  it  is  not  expected  any  weather  will  prevent  your  fullfilling  your 
ingagement,  but  this  additional  expence  attending  our  tea  vissits  I 
have  ever  carefully  avoided,  so,  with  my  umbrella  over  my  head,  and 
pattens  on  my  feet  at  six  o'clock  I  tript  away  like  a  fairy.  I  know  you 
will  smile  at  the  comparison,  but  I  do  assure  you  that  a  new  pair  of 
stays  has  thrown  me  almost  into  the  form  of  a  milkmaid.  My  short 
waist,  which  once  caused  your  sister  Sally  to  exclaim  violently,  is  now 
of  a  proportionable  length.  As  I  do  not  design  to  trouble  you  again 
with  an  account  of  my  dress  and  appearence  I  will  now  finish  all  I 
have  to  say  upon  the  subject.  I  wore  on  my  head  a  new  tate  which 
I  purchased  not  from  nessesity,  for  my  hair  is  in  much  the  same  state 


260  JAMES  MUKHAY,  LOYALIST 

now  a  widely  divergent  one,  her  letters  must  be  passed 
by,  and  we  must  take  of  her  a  reluctant  farewell. 

To  add  to  Mrs.  Inman's  trials,  when  those  she 
loved  were  slipping  from  her  and  her  worldly  pos- 
sessions also  were  taking  wing,  her  nephew,  John 
Murray,  announced  his  intention  of  quitting  the 
business  house  of  Clark  &  Nightingale  in  Provi- 
dence, where  he  was  receiving  a  mercantile  training, 
and  of  joining  the  American  army.  His  letter  to 
Mrs.  Inman  is  not  with  the  family  papers,  but  her 
protest  to  John  Innes  Clark  and  her  cautious  note 
to  the  youth  himself  are  as  follows  :  — 

ELIZABETH   INMAN    TO    JOHN    INNES    CLARK. 

Boston,  January  4th,  1777. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Words  are  wanting  to  express  my 
surprise  and  concern  at  reading  J.  Murrays  letter  by 
Mr.  Sherry.  I  hope  I  never  have  nor  never  will 
give  so  much  pain  to  an  enemy  as  this  does  to  me 
who  has  gloried  in  thinking  I  was  his  Aunt  and 
friend.  I  have  ever  been  proud  of  your  Candor, 
generosity.  Humanity,  friendship  and  affection  to 
me.  I  now  rely  on  these  good  qualities  and  your 
promise.     If  your  and  Mr.  Nightengale's  authority 

as  formerly,  but  from  a  principle  of  frugality,  &  to  save  trouble.  .  .  . 
I  have  dismembered  a  pair  of  past  earings  to  make  handkerchiefe 
and  hair  pins,  which,  with  my  good  Uncle  Perries  watch  by  my  side 
gives  me  no  contemptible  figure.  Have  I  done  ?  Why  no  I  have 
not;  I  ware  in  my  shoes  a  pair  of  stone  buckles  presented  to  me  by 
my  much  lamented  friend  Mrs.  Inman,  and  a  ring  upon  my  finger 
sent  to  me  from  Norwich,  as  a  mento  of  our  mutual  friendship,  the 
recolection  of  which  thros  a  damp  upon  my  spirits  and  obliges  me 
to  put  aside  my  scribbling." 


m  EXILE  261 

is  not  sufficient  to  Check  this  youth  I  beg  you  '11 
make  an  errand  for  him  to  Boston.  When  I  took 
him  from  his  Fathers  House  I  looked  on  myself  as 
accountable  to  Him  for  the  boy  till  he  arrived  at 
the  age  of  21.  At  that  time  I  intended  to  advise 
him  to  visit  his  family  and  consult  with  them  about 
settling.  If  he  determins  on  taking  up  arms 
against  them,  farewell  to  his  Fathers  and  Mothers 
happiness.  They  will  bid  adieu  to  their  eldest 
darling  Son  and  end  their  days  in  sorrow.  Their 
fondness  for  him  made  them  expect  he  would  be 
the  stay  of  the  large  family  and  the  support  of 
their  old  age.  How  blasted  then  their  hopes. 
For  God's  sake  let  it  not  be.  Assist  me  in  Clearing 
him.  Consider  you  have  children,  tho'  young ;  you 
do  not  like  disabedience  in  them,  how  would  oposi- 
tion  Hke  this  affect  you. 

My  respects  to  your  Ladys.  I  expected  to  see 
them  before  Christenmas.  Their  company  will  give 
me  pleasure.     Adieu. 

ELIZABETH   MURRAY   TO   JOHN  MURRAY. 

Boston,  January  4th,  1777. 

Dear  Jack,  —  I  received  yours  by  Mr.  Sherry. 
I  think  you  take  leave  in  an  easy  manner.  I  ask'd 
your  Cousin  to  allow  you  to  come  here  before 
Christenmas.  He  used  to  take  a  jaunt  from  London 
to  Wells  at  that  season.  Are  not  you  as  much 
attached  to  your  friends  as  he  was  to  his  ?     If  you 

are  you  will  intercede  with  Messrs  Clark  and  N 

to  visit  me  before  you  quit  being  a  Merchant. 


262  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

Her  nephew  was,  apparently,  by  her  persuasions, 
kept  from  carrying  out  his  intentions. 

In  June,  1777,  Mr.  Murray  was  again  in  New 
York,  though  he  had  previously  spent  some  time  in 
Newport.  His  letter  of  that  date  is  more  communi- 
cative than  his  last. 


JAMES   MUKKAY    TO    DOEOTHY    FORBES   AND    ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

New  York,  June  19th,  1777. 

Dear  Children,  —  I  have  already  wrote  to  you 
since  my  return  hither,  by  the  Flag  which  brought 
in  Mr.  Ben.  Davis ;  then  I  told  you  that  my  return 
was  occasioned  by  your  Mamma ;  the  good  people  at 
Halifax  having  persuaded  her  that  Rhode  Island 
would  certainly  be  retaken  by  the  Provincials.  Since 
my  arrival  I  have  wrote  to  her  inviting  her  and  the 
Miss  Cumings  to  this  place,  when  a  safe  conveyance 
offers. 

I  have  lodged  three  weeks  with  Mr.  Macka}^,  who 
has  sold  out  of  the  52d  and  whose  wife,  with  good 
prospects,  has  commenced  shop  keeper.  Yesterday  I 
came  to  lodge  at  Mr.  Bamper's^  on  Long  Island, 
opposite  New  York,  a  pleasant  place,  with  the  rivers, 

1  The  only  Benjamin  Davis  mentioned  by  Sabine  (vol.  i.  p.  359) 
is  the  Addresser  of  Hutchinson  and  of  Gage.  He  went  first  to  Hal- 
ifax, but  afterwards  set  out  for  New  York,  and  was  captured  on  his  way 
and  carried  to  Marblehead,  and  thence  to  Boston,  where  he  was,  in 
October,  1776,  imprisoned.  If  he  is  the  Mr.  Davis  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Murray,  he  must  have  been  set  at  liberty  and  allowed  to  proceed 
to  New  York  early  in  the  summer  of  1777. 

2  Mr.  Bamper's  was  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Willow  and 
Clark  streets,  Brooklyn. 


IN  EXILE  263 

the  shipping  and  city  under  the  eye,  good  gardens, 
orchards  and  green  fields  under  foot,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mrs.  Linzee,  Mr.  Ward,  Col.  Tyng^ 
and  Mr.  Walter  and  their  families.  I  could  be 
no  where  so  agreeable  from  home ;  so  I  have  good 
reason,  having  good  health  and  spirits  to  relish  all 
this,  to  be  thankful  and  to  wait  with  patience  and 
resignation  the  issue  of  this  dispute,  especially  as  I 
hear  you  pass  your  time  more  peaceably  than  many 
others  do.  I  shall  not  forget  to  be  grateful,  when 
in  my  power,  to  those  who  treat  you  and  Brother 
and  Sister  Inman  well. 

Mr.  Powell,  as  I  wrote  you,  has  made  a  genteel 
settlement  on  his  Son,  to  enable  him  to  prosecute 
his  studies.  The  young  family  has  taken  a  little 
house  at  Lambeth  and  have  a  Son.  .  .  . 

Capt.  Mulcaster,  now  one  of  Gen.  Howe's  Aid-de- 
Camps,  wishes  to  see  Mrs.  Forbes  and  her  Boys, 
says  Mr.  Forbes  and  Jammie  were  well  by  the  last 
accounts.  That  Mr.  Drayton  was  reinstated  as  Chief 
Justice,  I  have  wrote  to  Mr.  F.  by  a  Vessel  which 
lately  sailed  for  St.  Augustine.  .  .  . 

Polly's  Merchants  have  made  her  very  genteel 
ofPers.  I  have  sent  for  the  remainder  of  her  goods 
to  come  hither  and  to  be  insured.  Goods  find  here 
a  good  market  and  ready  money .^ 


^  Probably  William,  son  of  Commodore  Tyng.  (See  Sabine's 
Loyalists  of  the  Am.  Rev.  vol.  ii.  p.  369.)  He  went  from  Halifax  to 
New  York  when  the  royal  troops  entered  that  city. 

2  Mary  Murray's  goods  were  given  into  the  care  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Robie,  a  refugee  settled  in  Halifax. 


264  JAIVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

I  do  not  address  this  either  to  Brother  or  Sister 
Inman,  imagining  they  are  not  desirous  of  corre- 
spondents, in  these  times. 

Let  your  letters  for  me  be  directed  to  care  of 
Messrs.  Coffins  and  Anderson,  New  York.  Mr  A. 
gone  to  London  to  bring  out  another  large  assort- 
ment. That  house,  very  deservedly,  has  the  ball  at 
foot ;  the  present  gale  is  in  their  favour. 

Captain  Sainthill  with  whom  I  dined  to-day  at 
Mrs.  Linzee's  gives  us  the  latest  and  most  particu- 
lar accounts  of  our  friends  in  Boston  that  we  have 
had  for  some  time. 

By  the  latest  letters  from  the  refugees  at  home, 
many  of  them  eagerly  wish  for  an  opening  to  re- 
turn, notwithstanding  the  great  attention  paid  to 
them  there.  I  have  a  letter  from  Mr.  &  Mrs. 
Barnes  of  February  17th.  They  were  well  and 
desirous  to  hear  frequently  from  this  side.  I  strive, 
at  times,  to  gratify  them.  The  Doctor  and  his  nu- 
merous family  were  well  in  February,  as  his  letter 
to  his  Son  says.  I  shall  desire  Jack,  if  at  Provi- 
dence, to  peruse  these  letters  and  forward  them  to 
you.  Had  my  interview  with  your  Cousin  John 
Innes  Clark  at  Newport  been  as  dehberate  and  free 
as  I  wished,  most  of  these  letters  would  have  been 
sent  by  him  ;  as  it  was,  they  could  not  be  deHvered 
to  him  without  giving  much  trouble  to  the  Sec- 
retary, with  whom  I  was  not  acquainted. 

When  in  a  former  letter  I  expressed  my  desire 
to  retiu-n  to  Brush-hill  and  to  take  that  for  my 
prison,  could  you  find  no  other  motive  for  that  than 


IN  EXILE  265 

necessity?  Your  apprehensions  about  my  salary 
being  withheld  are  groundless.  Government  is  dis- 
posed rather  to  add  than  diminish  at  such  a  time  as 
this.' 

God  bless  and  preserve  you  all  —  that  is 

Adieu. 

^  Mr.  Murray  continued  to  receive  some  salary  from  England  for 
three  or  four  years  after  leaving  Boston.  In  1777  his  friend  Charles 
Stewart  wrote  that  the  sum  of  about  £150  a  year  might  be  de- 
pended on.     Extracts  from  Mr.  Stewart's  letters  are  as  follows  :  — 

April  14,  1777.  "  If  you  dont  think  of  coming  home  soon,  it  will 
be  better  to  send  a  letter  of  Attorney  to  some  friend  here  to  receive 
from  the  Cashier  ^  Paymaster  of  His  Majesty's  Customs  in  North 
America  the  Salary  that  now  is  or  shall  hereafter  become  due  unto  you 
as  Inspector  S^c.  —  and  if  you  think  proper  to  insert  my  name  with 
a  power  of  substitution,  I  will  substitute  some  person  who  may  sign 
the  proper  receipts  for  you  here,  and  it  shall  be  no  expense  to  you  ; 
and  if  you  find  it  necessary  for  your  present  support  or  Mrs.  Mur- 
ray's, you  may  draw  on  me  for  the  remainder  of  your  Salary  as  it 
shall  become  due.  I  could  have  readily  got  your  leave  of  absence  re- 
newed, but  it  is  not  worth  while  to  put  you  to  any  expence  about  it. 

"  The  power  of  our  Board  ceased  upon  their  leaving  America,  but 
the  Treasury  have  granted  Warrants  on  me  for  paying  the  salaries 
from  5  July  last  as  usual,  also  to  all  the  Officers  of  the  Outports  now 
in  England  and  the  Officers  in  the  Colonies  not  in  Rebellion.  Most 
of  the  Officers  now  at  home,  &  those  also  of  whose  offices  depended 
chiefly  on  fees,  receive  also  a  further  allowance  from  30  to  £100  a 
year  and  other  sufferers  from  50  to  £300  a  year,  for  their  present 
subsistence." 

August  28,  1777.  "  I  desired  you  to  send  a  letter  of  Attorney  for 
receiving  your  salary,  or,  if  more  agreeable,  send  a  receipt  for 
£187-10-  for  your  Salary  as  Inspector  of  Imports  &  Exports  of  the 
Customs  in  North  America  from  5  July  1776  to  10  October  1777, 
and  send  one  quarterly  afterwards  for  £37.10 —  as  the  salary  shall 
become  due.  Without  such  receipts  or  an  Attorney  signing  for  you, 
I  cannot  take  credit  for  your  Salary  in  my  books. 

"  The  late  news  from  the  Northern  Army  gives  us  great  Spirits 
&  we  will  be  daily  looking  out  for  further  agreeable  accounts  from 
both. 


266  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

June  2\sU 

Yesternight  I  heard  the  following  articles  of  in- 
teUigence,  which. may  or  may  not  be  news  to  you. 
W.  H.,  afronted  that  Mr.  Hughs,  his  Brother  dele- 
gate, was  left  out  in  election,  resigned  his  seat  in 
Congress  :  Mr.  Harnett  chosen  in  his  room.  Mrs. 
Cobham,  Maurice  Moore,  General  James  Moore 
dead.  Billy  Campbell  succeeds  to  an  estate  of  ten 
thousand  pounds  by  the  Will  of  his  Wife's  Brother, 
who  died  in  Jamaica.  Tedy  Gregg  and  Burg  win 
still  at  homes,  in  England  one,  in   Ireland  another. 

Billy    and    Sam    C and    Bob    Schaw  will  be 

obHged  to  leave  Carolina  for  not  taking  the  oaths  to 
the  states,  and  so  must  several  Scotch,  for  the  Hke 
crime.  John  Rowan  still  at  Barbadoes.  Several 
Eefugees,  to  be  out  of  the  way,  have  gone  to  Hve  at 
Point  Repose.  Mr.  Ancrum  high  Whig.  Mr. 
Rutherfurd  not  molested.  Fanny  well  married  at 
home  to  a  Mr.  Menzie  —  his  two  sons  under  Ld. 
Townsend's  protection  put  to  a  free  school  in  Eng- 
land. L.  700  Ster.  of  Col.  Innes  estate,  which  had 
been  many  years  in  Governor  Dinwiddle's  hands, 
recovered  for  carrying  on  this  education.  This  is 
all  I  can  recollect. 

Yours  affectionately. 

A  letter  from  EHzabeth  Murray  to  her  father 
shows  what  trying  times  these  were  for  the  loyalists 
remaining  in  Massachusetts. 


IN  EXILE  267 

ELIZABETH  MURRAY  TO   JAMES  MURRAY. 

Brush-hill,  Oct^  29'"  1777. 

Not  having  heard  from  you,  my  Dear  Sir,  since  the 
month  of  June,  when  we  received  your  two  very 
pleasing  letters  of  that  month,  accompanied  by  the 
large  packet  from  our  Friends  on  the  other  side  the 
Atlantic,  which  gave  us  inexpressible  pleasure,  I  am 
again  induced  to  take  up  the  Pen  in  hopes  of  having 
an  answer  by  the  return  of  the  Cartel.     You  are  too 
well  acquainted  with  our  anxieties  to  deny  us  that 
satisfaction  if  it  is  in  your  power  to  gratify  us,  there- 
fore I  will  not  trouble  you  with  a  repitition  of  the 
pain  your  silence  occasions,  but  proceed  to  a  plain 
state  of  facts  which  may  be  most  interesting  to  you. 
My  Aunt,  M'  I,  &  all  our  other  connexions  enjoy 
their  usual  good  share  of  health.     As  to  our  spirits, 
Sir,  I  leave  you  to  judge  of  them  from  the  late 
event  of  a  public  Nature.^     Silence  upon  that  sub- 
ject is  necessary,  so  I  can  only  say  that  all  your 
friends  are  much  in  the  same  situation  as  when  I 
last  wrote  except  our  own  family  which  has  met  with 
a  material  .  .  .  alteration  which  we   have  wished 
much  to  have the  melancholy  conse- 
quences of  unha past  been  encreasing 

the  miseries of   this  once  peaceful 

Country.  Exclusive  of  the  anxiety  we  suffered  in 
being  seperated  from  so  many  beloved  Friends  we 
have  not  been  exempt  from  the  other  inconveniences 
arising  from  the  Public  calamity.  Labour  being  at 
such  an  exorbitant  price,  as  well  as  every  Necessary 

1  Probably  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 


268  JAJVIES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

which  the  Farm  did  not  produce,  with  the  addition 
of  the  most  intolerable  Taxes,  presented  the  very  dis- 
agreeable prospect  of  hourly  envolving  ourselves  in 
debt,  without  a  single  expectation  of  being  extri- 
cated ;  our  Cousin,  J.  I.  C.,^  upon  a  visit  here  in 
the  month  of  July,  &  having  no  settled  place  of 
abode,  we  with  my  Aunt's  consent  made  an  offer  of 
the  Farm  to  him  for  one  Year,  which  he  accepted, 
&  has  been  here  for  the  last  three  Months  with  M" 
C.  and  their  only  Child,  a  Boy  of  three  years  old. 
My  Sister  &  her  youngest  Son  continue  in  their 
family.  Jack  has  been  several  Months  in  Town 
with  my  Aunt  attending  school.  I  am  sometimes  in 
Town,  &  sometimes  here.  M''^  H.^  &  her  Son  upon 
this  new  arrangement    ...  d  to  M"^^  Winslow's  of 

Braintree  where  we  pay  Nine  m which 

is  now  thought  very  moderate three 

for  the  latter.     M"  H.  is  become as 

good  health  as  ever  she  was.  As  she  has  received 
nothing  from  M''  Erving  for  two  years  &  her  ex- 
pences  are  so  great,  she  must  soon  draw  upon  him 
for  £100  ^*^.  It  would  not  be  improper  to  have  her 
Son  Tom  ^  (who  has  lately  been  a  favourite  of  For- 
tune) informed  particularly  of  her  situation.  I  in- 
close a  letter  from  Miss  G 1.*     She  desires  her 

respects  may  be  offered  to  you,  &  begs  the  favour 
of  having  the  letter  directed  properly,  &  forwarded. 
She  will  spend  the  Winter  here  I  believe,  in  com- 
pliance with  the  kind  invitation  of  M'  and  M'"  C, 

1  John  Innes  Clark.  2  jyf  pg.  Hooper. 

2  He  was  in  North  Carolina.  *  Miss  Goldfchwaifce. 


IN  EXILE  269 

whose  family  will  be  large  enough  to  form  an  agree- 
able Fire  Side  for  the  ensuing  Season.  M'  C  has 
Hired  three  Men  to  work  upon  the  Farm,  seems  in- 
cHned  to  make  every  improvement  in  his  power,  & 
must  certainly  succeed  in  it  better  than  we  could. 

The  present  circumscribed  way  of  writing  renders 
it  a  disao-reeable  task,  which  must  be  an  excuse  for 
my  not  writing  to  my  Friends  on  the  other  side  the 
Water. 

...  I  wrote  to  my  Cousin  Mary  some  Months 
ago  for  some  Shoes  &  a  pair  of  Stays  to  be  sent  to 
you  with  the  Ace*  of  them,  which  I  must  ask  the 
favor  of  you  to  discharge,  &  keep  the  articles  till  a 
favorable  opportunity  offers  of  sending  them.  We 
begin  to  feel  the  want  of  wearing  apparel  so  much 
that  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  requesting  you 
should  there  be  any  Person  coming  in  the  Cartel  or 
otherwise  who  may  be  confided  in  to  send  us  1  dozen 
pair  of  Cotton  Stock'%  1  doz:  f  or  1/2  doz:  of 
Rusel  or  everlasting  Shoes,  Mode  or  Sattin  with 
lace,  lining,  &  all  the  materials  for  making  a  black 
Cloak  &  Bonnet,  these  by  no  means  to  be  sent  but 
by  a  person  of  known  honor  &  honesty.  .  .  . 

JAMES  MUKRAY  TO   MRS.   FORBES  AND  E.   MURRAY. 
Philadelphia,  February  11th,  1778. 

My  Dear  Children, —  On  the  Receipt  of  my 
Betsey's  Letter  of  the  29  Oct%  I  wrote  the  24  Dec'' 
to  James  Dall  at  Messrs  Cof&n's  and  Andersons  in 
New  York  to  send  out  by  a  safe  hand  the  articles  by 
her  desired.    I  have  Mr.  Dall's  answer  that  he  would 


270  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

do  SO  and  expect  by  the  next  Vessel  his  Account  of 
them. 

The  greatest  Inconvenience  of  my  Situation  here 
is  that  of  being  out  of  the  way  of  hearing  from  my 
Family  and  Friends  so  frequently  as  I  wish.  To 
remedy  this,  I  purpose  to  return,  when  the  season 
will  permit,  to  Rhode  Island.  But  whether  I  shall 
first  go  to  Halifax  to  fetch  your  Mamma  and  her 
Servants  or  send  for  them  thither,  I  have  not  yet 
determined.  This  will  depend  on  the  Conveyance 
that  may  offer,  or  on  the  public  Movements  that 
may  be  like  to  take  place.  But  I  shall  strive  to 
avoid  such  a  tedious  wandering  as  the  last  Summer 
and  Autumn  gave  me.  One  great  Inducement  to 
be  at  Rhode  Island,  I  shall  be  at  hand  to  send  you 
some  of  the  Necessaries  you  stand  most  in  need  of, 
you  concerting  for  their  safety  at  and  from  Provi- 
dence. Mr.  Ed.  Winslow  is  to  supply  his  Father 
that  way.  .  .  . 

I  was  sorry  to  have  missed  the  York  Sloop,  a  Flag 
which  sail'd  the  other  day  for  Boston  before  I  was 
apprised  of  it,  but  am  happy  to  have  the  favour  of 
Mr.  Clark  to  make  me  amends  for  that  Loss.  Capt. 
Linzee  and  George^  will  also  write  by  him.  All 
your  friends  here  are  well  and  hearty,  hopeing  you 
preserve  spirits  equally  cheerful  and  good.  Remem- 
ber me  affectionately  to  my  Friends.  I  wrote  to 
Mr.  Barnes  and  inclosed  Miss  G's  Letter.  No  word 
from  St.  Augustine.  Adieu. 

i.  e.  —  May  God  preserve  and  support  you  in  the 

1  George  Inman, 


IN  EXILE  271 

firm  persuasion  that  Almighty  Power  will  over-rule 
and  direct,  not  only  the  present  little  Contest,  but 
all  Events  in  such  Manner  as  to  Infinite  Wisdom 
and  Goodness  seems  fittest  and  best. 

Mrs.  Forbes  and  Miss  Murray 
At  Brush-hill,  Milton.     Favoured  by  Mr.  Clark. 

[List  of  articles  sent  and  directions  as  to  their 
transportation :] 

6  y^  everlasting  or  Eusel  for  Shoes, 

12  pair  middling  sized  Mens  Stock^% 

Black  Sattin  or  Mode  for  a  Cloak  &  Bonnet, 

Lining,  Lace,  Ribbon  Sewing  Silk  for  the  same, 

2  y"^^  white  figured  Gause, 

3  y^  Black  D^ 

6  y*^^  Blond  Lace, 

6  y'^^  Black  D^ 

some  narrow  &  wide  Pink  &  white  Ribbons. 

If  leave  can  be  obtain'd  for  these  articles  to  be 
sent,  think  it  the  safest  way  to  commit  them  to  the 
care  of  some  of  the  Captains  or  other  Gentlemen 
that  come  round   in    the   transports  for  Gen^ :  B. 

Army.     If  M'  M. is  not  at  New  York  would  be 

glad  to  have  the  Ace*  sent  with  them  &  a  Bill  for 
the  Amount  shall  be  sent  by  the  first  oppor^. 

Whether  or  not  he  left  Philadelphia  before  the 
evacuation  or  again  witnessed  the  abandonment  of 
an  American  city  by  the  British  troops,  the  letters 
do  not  say.  One  disappointment  after  another  dis- 
couraged him,  however,  whenever  he   planned  to 


272  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

reach  his  children,  and  in  September,  1778,  came 
the  Act  of  Banishment  to  make  the  separation  more 
complete.  His  name  was  on  the  list  of  those  who 
were  forbidden  to  return  to  Massachusetts,  and  for 
a  time  he  did  not  dare  even  to  write  to  his  immedi- 
ate family. 

JAMES  MURRAY  TO  JOHN  INNES  CLARK. 

Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  Dec.  28,  1778. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Taking  the   Hint  of   a  few   lines 

from  Mrs.  F to  Captain  Mul[caster],  I  carry  on 

my  Correspondence  with  you  in  preference  to  my 
nearer  Connexions,  in  the  belief  that  I  shall  thereby 
give  less  perplexity  to  them  and  less  Umbrage  to 
the  executive  Powers  of  your  State.  Let  this  suf- 
fice for  an  Apology  to  you  and  them. 

The  last  Cartel  not  returning  hither  has  been  a 
great  Disappointment  to  all  of  us  who  had  Friends 
and  Relations  with  you  from  whom  we  were  anxious 
to  hear.  So  desirous  is  your  old  Uncle  to  know 
how  his  Family  and  friends  fare  and  to  afford  the 
means  of  Departure  to  such  of  them  who  choose  it, 
that  he  has  had  it  in  Contemplation  to  go  a  Passen- 
ger in  this  Cartel,  the  Master  of  which  (Dunlap)  is 
of  his  Acquaintance ;  but  his  Friends  tell  him  that 
the  Depth  of  Winter,  joined  to  the  Winter  of  his 
Life,  would  be  too  severe  for  him  on  your  Coast. 
This  added  to  the  Anxiety  of  Mrs.  M.,  who  suffered 
much  in  her  health  by  his  late  two  years  Absence, 
has  postponed,  not  laid  aside,  the  Intention  of  his 
Voyage ;  for  he  cannot  entertain  so  mean  an  Opin- 


IN  EXILE  273 

ion  of  your  Magistrates  as  to  suspect  that  any  of 
them  would  vex  or  molest  even  a  j^^oscrihed  Refu- 
gee, far  j^cist  his  speed,  for  coming  peaceably  in  a 
Cartel  to  carry  oJff  any  of  his  belongings  which  can 
be  of  no  use  to  them.  With  these  dispositions  you 
may  expect  to  see  this  same  Uncle  of  yours,  if  any 
opportunity  like  this  offers  in  the  Spring.  He  is 
the  more  anxious  to  make  this  Visit,  that  he  may 
bring  off  what  choose  to  come  and  take  leave  of 
those  that  mean  to  stay,  previous  to  the  Voyage 
which  he  and  Mrs.  M.  purpose  for  England  in  the 
Course  of  next  Summer.  He  has  been  loth  to  quit 
this  Shore  and  will  be  Loth,  while  there  is  a  glim- 
mering of  Hope  of  returning  to  his  beloved  abode 
in  Peace  and  credit. 

We  shall  know  early  in  the  ensuing  year  whether 
G.  Britain  means  to  exert  herself  to  cut  up  Inde- 
pendency by  the  Roots,  or  whether  she  intends  to 
consent  or  Connive  to  the  Propagation  of  that 
blessed  Plant,  with  the  fruits  of  which  you  expect 
to  be  regaled  and  enriched.  In  the  latter  Case,  we 
Refugees  must  make  the  best  Shift  we  can.  They 
will  suffer  most  who  have  most  to  loose,  who  are 
the  most  attached  to  their  Wealth,  and  who  have 
many  Days  and  a  large  family  to  enjoy  it.  [Your] 
Uncle  has  but  httle  to  lose,  a  few  days  to  Hve,  a 
small  family  to  subsist,  and  is  as  detached  from  the 
world  as  most  people.  Therefore  if  America  acts 
—  herself,  he  may  not  only  be  easy,  but  rejoice ; 
but  if  she  will  only  play  the  fool  in  quitting 
the   substance  for   the  shadow,   as   many  men  of 


274  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

many  minds  have  done  before  her —     No  more  of 
politics. 

If  my  Children  and  Grand  Children,  all  or  any 
of  them,  finding  a  proper  Company,  choose  to  come 
with  the  Return  of  this  Cartel,  I  have  no  objections  ; 
they  shall  meet  with  a  hearty  Welcome  and  the  best 
reception  we  are  able  to  give.  There  will  be  no 
Want  of  the  Necessaries  of  Life,  however  short  they 
may  be  kept  as  to  the  Fineries  of  it.  But  if  they 
are  not  very  uneasy  in  their  present  Circumstances, 
I  do  not  insist  on  their  Company,  till  it  can  be  had 
with  more  convenience  to  all  Parties.  My  Health 
has  not  been  better  these  several  years,  having  but 
a  small  and  easy  share  of  that  Debility  which  at- 
tends age.  They  may  depend  I  will  not  leave  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic  without  first  seeing  my  Family 
and  dearest  Friends. 

We  have  advice  of  a  few  necessaries  that  were 
sending  by  our  Friend  Mr.  A.  from  New  York  in 
a  Cartel  for  the  Convention  Troops.  Hope  they 
arrived  safe.  If  any  further  supply  is  wanted  you 
or  they  will  be  pleased  to  let  me  know. 

Wishing  you  all  the  compliments  of  the  season 
and  an  honourable  peace  in  the  course  of  the  year 
I  am  Dear  Sir 

Your  affectionate  Uncle. 

Mrs.  Murray  was  eager  to  go  to  England,  but  her 
husband  clung  to  the  land  which  held  his  children. 
"  For  your  Pa's  part,"  he  wrote  them,  in  April,  1780, 
when  he  was  almost  persuaded  to  go,  "  it  will  be 


IN  EXILE  275 

with  much  reluctance  that  he  will  leave  America, 
where  he  has  enjoyed  so  many  happy  years."  Three 
months  later  he  had  definitely  decided  to  remain  in 
Hahfax,  and  Mrs.  Murray,  in  spite  of  all  her  plans, 
did  not  leave  him.  Some  solace  for  being  again 
baffled  in  his  efforts  to  visit  Massachusetts  he  may 
have  foimd  in  purchasing  the  articles  for  "  Mrs. 
Inman,  Daughter  Forbes,  E.  M.,  and  boys  Jack  and 
Ralph,"  mentioned  in  the  list  appended  to  his 
August  letter. 

JAMES   MURRAY   TO   ELIZABETH   IVIURRAY. 

Halifax,  August  2d,  1780. 

My  Dear  Betsey,  —  As  you  the  most  frequently 
favour  me  with  yom*  Correspondence,  you  are  the 
best  entitled  to  Returns  in  kind :  With  the  rest  we 
must  be  content  to  preserve  and  cultivate  a  Silent 
regard  and  Affection,  till  times  mend. 

Annexed  is  a  list  of  things  sent  you  by  Mr. 
Bean's  Cartel,  which  I  hope  you  have  by  this  Time 
received  safe.  For  the  story  of  his  detention  here,  I 
refer  to  him.  He,  Mr.  White,  and  other  passengers 
deterr'd  me  from  sending  you  some  pieces  of  Linen 
by  the  last  Cartel,  assuring  me  it  would  be  seized  on 
its  arrival  with  you.  I  was  afterwards  laugh'd  at,  by 
others  for  my  Simplicity  and  Credulty,  being  assured 
that  your  rulers  had  too  much  honour  to  seize  a  small 
supply  of  Necessaries  sent  by  a  Refugee,  for  the  use 
of  his  family.  Upon  the  strength  of  this,  I  now 
send  the  Articles  mentioned  in  the  second  Mem-o, 
which  I  wish  safe  to  you.     One  piece  of  the  linen, 


276  JAMES  MUERAY,  LOYALIST 

you'll  observe  is  for  Miss  Peggy  McNeill  at  Mr. 
Jno.  Boises,  25  yds.  at  3/  L.3.15,  and  is  in  part  of 
LA,6A  I  received  for  her  from  Mr.  Hill.  For  the 
remaining  11/4  please  to  let  her  have  the  value  in 
everlasting  and  binding. 

I  proposed  to  have  made  you  a  Visit  in  this 
Cartel,  but  was  politely  refused  by  our  Lieu*.  Gov% 
whether  in  diffidence  or  in  Compassion  to  me  I  know 
not.  I  have  not  now,  as  formerly,  the  honour  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  Governors  and  Rulers  in  the 
Land. 

Since  my  last,  which  attended  a  Letter  from  your 
Aunt  Bennet  to  you  and  another  from  me  to  my 
Boy  Jack  Forbes,  I  have  received  the  inclosed  for 
you,  forwarded  by  Mr.  Deblois,  and  another  from 
him  to  his  Mrs.  Deblois.  Letters  also  from  the 
Doctor  and  Polly,  hers  from  Portsmouth  so  late  as 
6th  May.  She  had  been  convoying  her  Sister 
Powel,  who  was  there  to  embark  with  one  of  her 
three  boys  on  board  the  Beaver,  Capt  Powel,  to 
join  her  Husband  at  Quebec.  All  our  Friends  at 
home  were  well. 

Since  I  cannot  get  to  you,  you  shaU  be  welcome 
here  to  me,  provided  you  meet  with  good  Company 
for  your  Passage,  and  do  not  run  the  risk  of  being 
carried  to  New  York,  by  the  Prisoners,  as  other 
Cartels  have  been,  and  provided  also  you  have  your 
Aunt's  and  Sisters  Consent.  I  despair  of  this,  and 
on  second  thoughts  contradict  this  paragraph. 

More  of  the  black  lasting  is  sent,  that  you  may 
barter  it  for  other  necessaries. 


m  EXILE  277 

Your  Mama  has  sold  part  of  her  and  Mrs.  Gor- 
don's tenements  here,  purposes  to  sell  the  rest 
beginning  of  next  month,  having  got  her  Sisters 
Power  for  that  Purpose,  and  after  that  seems  bent 
to  go  and  join  her  Sister  in  Edinburgh.  I  have  not 
the  least  desire  to  stir,  but  shall  stay  and  take  my 
Chance,  some  where  on  this  side  of  the  water,  but 
not  in  this  Expensive  place,  Halifax.  Let  this 
explain  the  Contradiction  of  the  foregoing  para- 
graph by 

Your  affectionate  Father. 

June  ISth,  1780. 
Account  of  articles  sent  by  Mr.  Beane's  Cartel  to  IMiss  Betsey- 
Murray  in  Boston.  —  viz.  — 

Everlasting  4  yards,  Binding  1  piece.  Nankeen 
4:|  yds.  Of  Gingham,  2  gown  patterns.  2  pair  red 
Shoes  from  M.  Q}  for  the  Boys  Jack  and  Ralph, 
a  parcel  from  M,  C.  to  Mrs.  Brigden,  1  pair  silk 
shoes  and  some  flowers  from  Mrs.  Casey  to  E.  M. 
and  D.  P.,  2  gauze  handkerchiefs  and  2  feathers  by 
J.  M.  as  ordered,  Gutheries  Geographical  Gram- 
mar .  .  .  ,  Lock  on  education,  a  parcel  of  dark 
cotton  for  a  gown  A.  E.  C.  to  Mrs.  Forbes,  1  pair 
holl'd  gloves,  a  muslin  handkerchief  and  1  pair 
from  Mrs.  M.  to  Sister  Inman. 

4  muslin  handker^  Mrs  M.  to  D.  F.  &  E.  M. 
21  p-s  Wire  and  an  old  gown  Mrs.  M.  to  E.  M., 

5  childrens  books  Mrs  M.  for  the  boys  Jack  & . 

1  A.  &  E.  Cummings  ? 


278  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

August  2d,  1780. 

There  are  now  sent  in  the  Cartel  with  5  pieces 
of  linen  directed  by  my  hand  with  ...  on  the  linen, 

and  with    pen  and  ink   on  the   b .,   1  p's   25 

yds.  for  Sister  Inman,  1  p's  25  yds.  at  3/  Cur- 
rency for  Miss  Peggy  McNeill,  2  p-s  48  yds.  for 
Daughters  Forbes  and  E.  M.,  1  pr.  25  yds.  for  the 
boys  Ralph  and  Jack,  1  lb.  thread,  1  p-s  Everlast- 
ing 30  yds.,  2  p-s  tape  binding,  1  lb.  white  Nuns 
thread,  I  lb.  finer  Ditto,  1  lb.  black  thread  (not 
sent). 

His  daughters'  interests  were  ever  uppermost  in 
his  mind.  In  the  upheaved  state  of  the  country 
Mrs.  Forbes' s  return  to  St.  Augustine  was  practi- 
cally an  impossibility,  though  the  subject  of  the 
journey  was  occasionally  discussed,  as  in  the  next 
letter  from  Mr.  Murray. 

JAMES  MURRAY    TO    DOROTHY    FORBES    AND    ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 
Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  Sept.  20th,  1780. 

My  Dear  Children,  —  I  had  the  pleasure  two 
days  ago  of  recei\dng  by  the  Cartel,  which  returns 
with  this  my  D.  F.'s  letters  of  the  15*^  and  24*^  past ; 
but  [neither]  the  Letter  by  Penobscot  nor  Mrs. 
Powell's  Letters  have  yet  made  their  Appearance.  I 
had  two  Letters  from  Polly  indeed,  the  latest  of  the 
8th  May  at  Portsmouth  where  she  was  attending  her 
Sister's  Embarkation.  These  I  mentioned  in  my  last. 
Anne's  misfortune  in  being  taken  would  be  in  a  great 


IN  EXILE  279 

measure  compensated  to  her  by  an  Interview  with  her 
friends  in  New  England.  But  to  turn  to  what  now 
concerns  you  more  nearly,  your  Connexions  in  St. 
Augustine.  Of  them  we  have  very  favourable  Ac- 
counts, both  from  Major  Sheriff,  whom  we  as  well 

as  you  have  seen,  and  from  Capt.  Haw of  the 

Brig  John  and  Mary,  lately  retaken  and  brought 

hither,  who  left  Mr.  F and  son  well  on  the  10th 

of  last  month.  It  might  have  been  practicable  for 
him  and  me,  had  we  been  very  desirous  of  keeping  up 
a  Correspondence,  to  have  exchanged  some  tho  not 
many  Letters  by  way  of  New  York  and  even  by 
London.  For  this  omission  your  Pa,  having  had 
the  least  to  do,  is  the  most  to  blame.  He,  J.  F.,  per- 
plexed with  much  Business  and  much  Company, 
may  more  readily  be  excused.  In  the  scarcity  of 
your  letters  from  him,  the  inclosed  though  of  an  old 
date  may  not  be  unacceptable.  I  shall  write  him 
soon  by  way  of  New  York,  and  recommend  it  to  the 
care  of  Dr.  Johnston  in  Georgia,  in  which  channel 
you  may  likewise  send  your  Letters,  or  by  Charles- 
town  from  New  York.  What  are  my  Sentimerbts  of 
his  D.  F.'s  returning  with  her  Sons  soon  to  hun,  it 
is  needless  for  me  to  say.  Her  feelings  and  of 
course  her  view  of  men  and  things  must  necessarily 
be  different  from  those  of  an  old  man,  who  has  seen 
much  of  the  World  in  several  Climates,  and  upon 
that  Experience  forms  an  Estimate  of  Life  and  of 
the  way  of  Life  most  likely  to  procure  that  health. 
Tranquillity,  Resignation  and  firmness  of  mind 
which  have  the  best  chance  for  happiness  or  what 


280  JA]\IES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

comes  nearest  to  it.  Besides,  lie  is  altogether  a 
stranger  to  the  embarrassments  and  Difficulties  of 
her  present  Circumstances,  and  for  that  reason 
also  an  improper  Judge  for  her  line  of  Conduct. 

He  does  not  however  think  with  her  that  Peace  is 
very  Distant.  In  hope  of  that  he  will  remain  here 
this  Winter  at  least,  if  not  called  off  with  a  better 
man  (Gov^.  H.^)  to  a  better  "World.  Of  such  a  sum- 
mons his  present  good  health  and  Spirits  give  no 
other  warning  than  what  may  be  looked  for  at  an 
advanced  Period  of  Life. 

What  would  you  think,  should  a  Peace  return 
your  Conductor  from  St.  Augustine  in  such  Strength 
as  to  be  able  (for  he  would  be  very  willing  were  it 
your  choice)  to  convoy  you  as  far  as  Georgia  in 
your  way  back.  There  we  could  see  our  Friend 
Philip  and  family  and  going  or  returning  put  into 
Cape  Fear  to  visit  Relations  and  Estate  there. 

I  rejoice  to  hear  you  got  your  paultry  supply  of 
linen.  If  the  thread  missing  was  the  black,  that 
was  not  sent. 

If  you  could  without  much  trouble  get  leave  to 
send  us  a  Barrel  of  Apples  and  another  to  Miss 
Cuming,  they  would  be  very  acceptable.  These 
Ladies  will  tell  you  that  they  will  be  very  happy  to 
execute  [your]  Commands,  which  they  well  know 
are  always  for  good. 

Mrs.  Mackay's  heirs  have  sold  as  much  of  their 
Estate  here  as  amounts  to  L.600  Ster,  and  have  left 
three  or  four  hundred  more  to  dispose  of ;  a  season- 

^  Governor  Hutchinson  died  June  3,  1780. 


IN  EXILE  281 

able  Supply,  the  income  of  which  is  to  be  sacredly 
appropriated  to  their  use.  Will  not  this  long  Letter 
and  the  Inclosed  give  a  claim  to  Letters  from  you 
both,  as  long  and  particular  as  you  can  with  pro- 
priety send.  Nothing  of  your  Politics  is  desired  — 
we  have  enough  of  that  from  other  hands.  .  .  . 

I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  Maryanne,  after  a  rest  of 
13  years,  brought  us  a  fine  Mulatto  Child  (Daugh- 
ter) last  week. 

I  shall  enclose  this,  your  Husband's,  and  one  to 
Boy  Jack,  as  you  direct  under  cover  to  our  J.  I.  C. 
Adieu. 

Three  years  later,  to  anticipate  the  due  course  of 
events,  Mr.  Forbes  died.  Peace  had  just  been  de- 
clared, and  his  fortunes  were  shattered.  Hoping  to 
mend  them  he  took  passage  with  his  son  James  for 
London.  While  the  vessel  was  detained  at  New 
York  he  wrote  to  his  wife  the  following  letter  in 
explanation  of  the  journey  :  — 

REV.  JOHN  FORBES  TO  DOROTHY  FORBES. 

New  York,  1783. 
This  morning  I  intended  to  have  wrote  you  and, 
being  hurried  earlier  on  board  the  Packet  Duke  of 
Cumberland  than  I  expected,  I  am  disappointed  in 
the  opportunity  of  writing  so  fully  as  I  wished.  I 
have  the  pleasure  this  moment  of  receiving  yours 
inclosed  by  one  from  M"  Inman.  I  am  sorry  my 
letters  have  not  reached  you.  I,  no  doubt,  have 
been  remiss.     I  have  been  sick,  lingering  and  unset- 


282  JAMES  MURRAY,   LOYALIST 

tied.  I  meant  upon  the  peace  to  have  paid  you  a 
visit  at  Boston.  ...  I  had  one  great  stake  fixed  on 
the  fate  of  E.  Florida ;  thought  my  property  there 
secure  and  Capable  of  great  improvement.  Industry 
and  even  economy  and  frugality  were  not  wanting 
on  my  part.  I  had  retired  to  where  M'  Cumings 
formerly  lived,  made  it  an  elegant,  beautiful  and 
convenient  situation,  &  had  just  expectations,  inde- 
pendent of  my  friends,  of  providing  for  my  family 
and  of  placing  the  boys  in  a  capacity  of  raising 
themselves  and  giving  scope  to  ambition,  and  from 
a  fitful  provision  I  had  the  prospect  of  being  worth 
not  less  than  1000  .  .  .  p''  Annum ;  but  this  vanishes 
to  perhaps  scarce  bare  subsistence.  .  .  .  Upon  hear- 
ing of  the  peace,  having  all  my  property  in  Florida, 
I  thought  by  going  immediately  to  England  I  might 
be  of  use  to  myself,  either  by  giving  a  short  repre- 
sentation of  the  importance  of  retaining  the  pro- 
vince under  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain  or  in  finding 
early  what  hopes  I  might  entertain  of  being  in  a 
situation  of  remaining  in  England  with  my  united 
family,  when  the  boys  might  be  educated  under  my 
eye.  With  this  View  I  took  passage  on  board  this 
ship  for  myself  &  son,  and  unexpectedly  have  been 
long  detained  and  am  here  by  accident,  the  wind 
answering  for  Captain  Dashwood's  coming  here  to 
water,  where  we  have  staid  a  few  days.  You  know 
I  do  not  hke  to  alter  my  plan.  Had  it  been  possi- 
ble consistant  with  the  great  object  I  had  in  view  to 
have  seen  you,  I  would.  James  has  lately  lost  much 
by  my  want  of  health  and  hurry  of  business.  .  .  . 


IN  EXILE  283 

I  cannot  tell  you  what  he  or  I  will  do  in  England, 
or  where  we  may  be  fixed.  My  affairs  in  Florida  I 
left  as  if  I  had  been  going  only  20  miles  distance. 
I  could  not  sell  my  houses.  I  did  not  like  to  sell  my 
negroes.  I  cannot  live  idle,  I  must  do  some  thing. 
I  hate  the  West  Indies,  and  I  wish  to  consult  you. 

I  sent  you  a  power  of  Atterney,  and  in  case  it  has 
not  reached  I  will  send  another.  I  must  soon  return 
to  Florida  to  settle  my  affairs.^  My  love  to  the 
boys 

On  board  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  packet  on  the  way  to  Sandy  Hook. 

One  more  gleam  of  hope  shows  itself  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  the  last  to  be  printed  here  from  Mr. 
Murray's  pen.  He  was  ready,  if  by  that  means  a 
reunion  of  the  family  could  be  accomplished,  to 
begin  life  anew  in  His  Majesty's  Province  of  Maine. 
One  consideration  only  makes  him  pause,  —  his  fear 
of  endangering  the  interests  of  his  friends  in  Boston 
by  building  up  a  rival  town. 

1  After  Mr.  Forbes's  death,  Mrs.  Forbes,  hoping  to  recover  some- 
thing from  his  estate  as  well  as  from  her  father's,  made  the  expedi- 
tion to  Wilmington  and  St.  Augustine  spoken  of  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter. Her  efforts  were  fruitless,  but  Mr.  Forbes  had  owned  lands  in 
Florida  which  had  been  given  over  to  the  Spaniards  at  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  for  these  lands  she  did  receive  compensation  afterward 
from  the  British  government.  Her  son  James  finished  his  education 
abroad.  He  afterward  came  to  this  country  and  married.  John 
died  unmarried.  Ralph  Bennet  Forbes  married  Margaret  Perkins. 
See  John  Murray  Forbes,  Life  and  Recollections,  edited  by  Sarah 
Forbes  Hughes. 


284  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

JAMES    MURRAY  TO    DOROTHY  FORBES    AND  ELIZABETH 
MURRAY. 

Halifax,  Feb^  17th,  1781. 

My  Dear  Children,  —  About  a  Week  ago  I 
received  by  way  of  New  York  your  Letters  of  the 
14th  and  15th  Nov^  and  Mr.  Dowse's  of  the  8th 
of  that  month.  That  you  are  all  well  gives  us  no 
small  Pleasure.  Health,  Patience  and  Resignation 
will  enable  you,  I  hope,  to  endure  with  Firmness  the 
Remainder  of  your  Difficulties  from  the  War,  which 
by  everything  we  hear  seems  to  draw  near  a  close. 
In  this  View,  therefore,  I  think  it  will  be  improper 
to  further  teize  Mr.  E.  for  the  interest  due  from 
him. 

Fifty  pounds  lawful  money  of  the  late  Mr.  Hoopers 
Estate  I  paid  to  John  Rowe  the  25th  July  1760,  upon 
his  note  of  hand  bearing  interest,  and  that  sum, 
except  what  Interest  he  has  paid,  was  left  in  his  hand 
when  I  left  Boston.  The  Principal  and  Interest  due 
I  think  he  might  pay  to  you,  giving  him  security  to 
indemnify  him  for  his  note  and  Mr.  Dowse's  order 
joined  to  mine  which  shall  be  annexed  to  this,  or 
even  mine  alone  may  be  sufficient. 

The  Rumour  for  some  time  here  is  that  the  Pro- 
vince of  Main  is  to  be  effectually  settled  under  the 
King's  Protection  early  in  the  Summer,  and  that 
the  New  England  Refugees  are  to  be  invited  thither. 
If  that  is  to  be  the  Case,  your  old  Father  will,  if 
he  Hves,  make  one.  You  know  he  delights  in  form- 
ing New  Settlements,  where  Improvements  proceed 
rapidly.     Yet  he  confesses  that,  in  regard  to   his 


m  EXILE  285 

Friends  in  and  about  Boston,  whose  Interest  if  that 
settlement  goes  on  vigorously  will  be  much  affected, 
in  Regard  to  them,  he  wishes  to  forgo  that  Plea- 
sure, that  Boston,  after  all  it  has  done  and  suffered, 
may  yet  hold  up  its  head  as  a  principal  Town  in 
America. 

In  a  former  letter  you  were  told  that  the  Two 
Sisters  M.  and  G.^  had  upon  good  terms,  L.800 
Ster.,  got  quit  of  their  landed  Property  here.  All 
(except  the  little  Tenement  about  L.200  value  in 
which  we  live)  the  produce  thereof  has  been  remitted 
in  bills  of  exchange  for  their  use. 

By  Several  Letters  which  have  come  to  light,  it 
appears  that  the  Writers  look  upon  the  War  as  we 
do,  in  a  dying  Condition.  One  instance  of  this  is 
the  sending  for  your  Cousin  Polly,  to  whom  I  shall 
not  fail  to  give  notice  as  early  as  I  can  of  the  Invi- 
tation, of  which  I  dare  say  she  will  readily  accept, 
having  severely  regretted  or  Cause  to  regret  that 
ever  she  left  America.     But  who  can  f orsee  events  ? 

You  have  no  Cause  to  apprehend  my  crossing  the 
Atlantic,  be  Events  as  they  will :  My  Ambition  is 
gone  to  Sleep  before  me.  A  Man  near  Seventy,  if 
in  his  Senses,  can  want  hut  little  here  helow,  nor 
want  that  little  long.  Therefore  the  withdrawing 
my  Salary  for  some  time  past  gives  me  little  con- 
cern. .  .  . 

Nothing  can  be  done  relative  to  T.  H's  note  to 
you,  till  a  Peace,  or  until  his  Port  be  quite  open. 
But  of  this,  more  when  we  meet,  which  I  hope  will 

*  Mrs.  Murray  and  Mrs.  Gordon. 


286  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

be  in  a  few  months,  either  in  the  Province  o£  Main 
or  at  Boston.  .  .  . 

But  the  Maine  scheme  and  all  others  for  reunion 
upon  earth  were  to  come  to  naught.  Mr.  Murray's 
health  had  for  some  years  been  precarious.  It  now 
failed  rapidly,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1781 
he  died.  The  following  letter  from  Mrs.  Inman, 
dated  Cambridge,  July  22,  1782,  contains  all  the 
particulars  that  have  been  preserved  :  — 

"  Letters  from  Halifax  to  Mr.  Greenleaf  and  Mrs. 
Bridgen,"  she  wrote  to  Dr.  John  Murray,  [said] 
"  that  my  brother  lay  on  his  death-bed  and  [gave]  the 
particulars  of  his  illness.  This  account  I  suppressed 
and  kept  the  young  folks  from  Town,  tho  at  a  gay 
season.  I  perswaded  them  to  keep  Thanksgiving, 
Chrisen-Mass,  and  New  Year  here,  making  an  ex- 
cuse that  Mrs.  Belcher  was  not  able  to  go  abroad. 
Letters  never  arrived  from  Mrs.  Murray  till  February. 
Happy  for  them  it  was  near  Spring,  they  were  in 
such  a  situation  that  I  was  afraid  they  would  fall  a 
sacrifice  to  grief.  We  kept  them  moving  from 
place  to  place  with  some  chearful  sympathizing 
friends.  They  are  now  better  tho  at  times  very 
dull.  They  will  ever  regret  being  absent  from  their 
Father." 

Mrs.  Inman  survived  her  brother  only  a  few  years, 
and  these  few  were  sad  ones.  Her  friends  were  scat- 
tered, her  means  reduced,  and  her  health  was  under- 
mined. At  intervals  she  thought  of  repairing  to 
England.     "  My  attachment  to  this  country,"  she 


m  EXILE  287 

wrote,  "  has  been  violent,  but  these  times  and  the 
death  of  our  much  loved  Brother  has  wean'd  me  in 
such  a  measure  that  I  am  anxious  for  the  sun  to  rise 
and  the  wind  to  blow  that  shall  clear  me  of  this 
once  happy  shore." 

In  another  letter,  written  from  Providence,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1783,  she  says  :  — 

"  Had  not  this  cruel  war  taken  place,  it  would 
have  been  in  my  power  to  have  put  my  Dear  Polly 
into  a  state  of  Independence  :  the  ill  consequences 
of  it  we  have  felt  in  common  with  thousands  on  this 
Continent ;    from  the  most  exact  computation  Mr. 

I has  lost  five  thousand    pounds  sterling  and 

lived  a  great  part  of  the  time  in  the  sugar  house 
with  only  Jack  Marlebor'h  for  a  servant.  As  we 
had  only  fifty  pound  a  year,  he  was  servant  enough. 
As  I  did  not  take  paper,  this  was  all  we  could  com- 
mand. As  to  Intrest,  I  have  received  none  these 
nine  years,  therefore  I  sold  a  house  as  soon  as  hard 
money  came  in  play,  and  remitted  you  the  money. 
As  to  my  personal  expenses  they  do  not  amount  to 
fifty  pound  sterling  these  nine  years;  dress  I  thought 
needless,  as  I  could  neither  entertain  nor  visit,  so  I 
took  the  old  method  to  Clout  the  auld  as  the  new 
was  dear.  .  .  . 

"We  are  now  upon  a  visit  at  Providence  and 
stay  at  Mr.  &  Mrs.  Clark's,  where  we  see  your  sons 
every  day ;  ^  by  their  friendship  and  attention  they 

1  Anne  Murray  Powell  resided  in  Canada  after  the  Revolution. 
Her  sister  Elizabeth,  it  seems  from  this  letter,  was  to  join  her.  How 
many  of  Dr.  John  Murray's  children  were  at  that  time  in  America 


288  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

make  it  an  agreeable  home  to  us  all.  Her  Brother 
is  Lieut.  Governor,  and  makes  this  place  an  agree- 
able assylum  to  the  distressed  Refugees,  where  their 
friends  assemble  from  all  quarters  to  see  them.  The 
uncommon  attention  we  meet  from  her  connexions 
convinces  us  of  her  attachment  to  our  family.  It 
gives  me  pleasure  to  see  John  so  happy.  Your  son 
James  is  doing  very  well  under  the  Parental  care 
of  his  Brother  who  is  very  fond  of  him.  Robert, 
who  I  am  much  pleased  with,  we  left  at  Cambridge 
under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Forbes,  as  he  had  a  slight 
indisposition  which  rendered  the  journey  improper. 
We  hear  he  is  recovering.  Offer  my  Love  to  my 
sister  and  all  the  family  at  Wells  and  Norwich.  Do 
not  be  sm-prised  if  you  see  me  attended  by  one  of 
your  sons  one  of  these  days.  I  threaten  it  very 
seriously ;  they  say  I  have  lost  my  health  and  you 
know  I  had  rather  change  Climates  than  remain 
what  they  call  poorly.  What  say  you  my 
Brother?" 

Mrs.  Inman  never  accomplished  the  projected 
visit  to  her  brother ;  her  strength  was  unequal  to 
the  journey.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1785,  with  suf- 
ficient warning  of  the  end  to  enable  her  to  close 
gently  her  relations  with  the  world,  and  to  distribute 

does  not  appear.  James  had  joined  John  in  Providence,  as  the  next 
paragraph  of  the  letter  indicates,  and  Robert  apparently  had  lately 
come  over  from  England.  Of  the  ten  or  more  children  six,  viz., 
John,  Anne,  Robert,  Elizabeth,  George,  and  James  eventually  set- 
tled in  America.  Mary,  Charlotte,  Helen,  and  Charles  remained  in 
England.  Another  son,  Valentine,  who  died  young,  is  mentioned  in 
Dr.  John  Murray's  letters. 


IN  EXILE  289 

among  tliose  to  whom  she  had  always  been  a  gener- 
ous giver  her  last  remembrance  and  farewells,  she 
died,  to  the  passionate  grief  of  her  nieces  and  the 
keen  regret  of  her  friends. 

In  the  year  1783  the  conclusion  of  peace  brought 
relief  even  to  the  Tories  in  America.  Not  so,  in- 
deed, to  Dr.  Murray,  who  had  despairingly  written 
from  England  :  "  Poor  Britain  !  How  much  like 
Babylon  and  Carthage  in  her  fall,  and  how  nearly 
will  she  resemble  them  in  her  fate !  The  nations 
around  already  loll  out  the  tongue,  and  the  owl  and 
the  bittern  may  soon  take  possession  of  her  palaces." 

Ehzabeth  Murray,  in  1785,  married  Mr.  Edward 
Hutchinson  Robbins,  who,  in  1780,  when  he  was  but 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  had  been  a  member  of  the 
convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  who,  as  Representative  and  Speaker 
of  the  House,  as  Lieutenant  Governor,  as  member  of 
the  Governor's  Council,  and  as  Judge  of  Probate, 
continued  to  serve  the  State  in  of&ce  and  out  of 
office  as  long  as  he  Hved.  Elizabeth's  children^ 
were  Eliza ;  Sarah  Lydia,  who  married  Judge  Howe ; 
Anne  Jean,^  who  married  Judge  Lyman  of  North- 
ampton ;  Mary,  who  married  Paul  Joseph  Warren 
Revere,  a  son  of  Paul  Revere  ;  Edward  Hutchinson  ; 
James  Murray,  into  whose  hands  Brush  Hill  after- 
wards came ;  and  Catherine. 

With  the  death  of  Dr.  John  Murray,  in  1792,  the 
record  of  the  elder  generation  closes.     But  his  chil- 

1  See  Appendix. 

^  See  Recollections  of  my  Mother ^  by  Susan  I.  Lesley. 


290  JAMES  MURRAY,  LOYALIST 

dren  across  the  sea  and  his  brother's  children 
accepted  philosophically,  if  not  without  reservation, 
the  new  order,  while  the  descendants  comprising  the 
third  generation  were  American  to  the  core.  Indeed, 
two  sons  of  Mary  Robbins  Revere,  grandsons  of 
Paul  Revere,  and  great-grandsons  of  James  Murray, 
fell  on  the  battlefield  in  the  war  for  the  Union,  giv- 
ing to  their  country  lives  derived  on  the  one  hand 
from  the  Patriot,  and  on  the  other  from  their  Tory 
ancestor. 


APPENDIX 


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1 

REMARKS  ON  THE  GENEALOGY  OF  HURRAYS 

BY  ARCHIBALD  M.    HOWE 

The  accompanying  "  Genealogy  of  Murrays  "  ^  conforms  al- 
most exactly  to  the  lineage  printed,  under  the  title  of  "  Murray 
of  Philiphaugh,"  in  Burke's  "Commoners,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  56-59, 
and  Burke's  "Landed  Gentry,"  vol.  ii.  of  1898,  p.  1078.  T. 
Craig-Brown,  under  the  same  title,  in  "  The  History  of  Selkirk- 
shire, or  Chronicles  of  Ettrick  Forest,"  vol.  ii.  p.  335,  prints  the 
tree,  which  corresponds  in  many  ways,  but  gives  names  of  direct 
line  and  of  male  issue  only.  One  or  two  slight  variations  in  the 
table  contained  in  the  Appendix  from  Burke's  list  printed  on 
page  3  of  this  volume  will  be  observed. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  the  identification  of  John  Murray  of 
Bowhill  and  his  issue  was  made  by  a  competent  hand  from  fam- 
ily manuscript  in  the  possession  of  James  Murray  Bobbins. 

II 

GRANDCHILDREN  OF  JAMES  MURRAY 

A 

Children  of  Dorothy  Murray  Forbes  and  John  Forbes,  mar- 
ried February  2,  1769. 

James  Grant,  born  November  22,  1769. 
John  Murray,  born  August  13,  1771. 
Ralph  Bennet,  born  June  11,  1773. 

1  See  Table. 


APPENDIX  295 

B 

Children  of  Elizabeth  Murray  Robbins  and  Edward  Hutch- 
inson Bobbins,  married  November,  1785. 
Eliza  Robbins,  born  August  26,  1786. 
Sarah  Lydia,  born  December  16,  1787. 
Anne  Jean,  born  July  3,  1789. 
Edward  Hutchinson,  born  March  24,  1792. 
Mary,  born  October  16,  1794. 
James  Murray,  born  June  30,  1796. 
Catharine,  born  March  25,  1800. 

Ill 

THE  MURRAY  FAMILY 

BY   SARAH   LYDIA   HOWE 

[This  account  of  the  early  history  of  the  Murray  family, 
Mrs.  Howe,  daughter  of  EHzabeth  and  Edward  Hutchinson 
Robbins,  abridged,  as  her  own  explanation  indicates,  from 
Scott's  introduction  to  "The  Sang  of  the  Outlaw  Murray." 
The  abridgment,  interspersed  by  Mrs.  Howe's  comments,  was 
prepared  as  a  convenient  reference  for  her  family,  without  any 
expectation  on  her  part  that  it  would  ever  be  printed.  Mrs. 
Howe  died  in  1862.] 

It  is  well  known  that,  from  the  conquest  of  England  by  the 
Normans  (1066)  to  the  accession  of  James  IV.  of  Scotland 
(1603)  to  the  united  kingdoms,  a  perpetual  discord  was  kept 
up  between  the  people  of  both  countries  respecting  the  lands 
of  each,  and  during  a  great  part  of  nearly  five  centuries  the 
borderers  lived  in  a  fearful  state  of  mutual  enmity  and  aggres- 
sion. It  appears  that  the  family  of  Murray  of  Philiphaugh 
took  an  active  part  in  these  hostilities. 

The  song  of  the  "Outlaw  Murray"  was  found  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott  among  the  papers  of  Mrs.  Cockburn,  of  Edin- 
burgh, a  friend  of  Sir  Walter's  mother,  and  the  author  of  that 
beautiful  song,  "  I  've  seen  the  smiling  of  fortune  beguiling."  ^ 

Sir  Walter's  prefatory  remarks  upon  the  ballad,  and  his 
notices  of  our  ancestors,  form  an  admirable  commencement  of 


296  APPENDIX 

that  brief  narrative  in  which  the  American  branch  of  the  old 
border  race  are  chronicled.  The  ballad  commemorates  a  trans- 
action supposed  to  have  taken  place  betwixt  a  Scottish  monarch 
and  an  ancestor  of  the  ancient  family  of  Murray  of  Philip- 
haugh  in  Selkirksliire. 

"  It  is  certain  that  during  the  civil  wars  between  Bruce  and 
Baliol,  the  family  of  Philiphaugh  existed  and  was  powerful,  for 
their  ancestor,  Archibald  de  Moravia,  subscribed  the  oath  of 
fealty  to  Edward  I.,  1296.  It  is,  therefore,  not  unlikely  that 
residing  in  a  wild  and  frontier  country,  they  may  have,  at  one 
period  or  other  during  these  commotions,  refused  allegiance 
to  the  feeble  monarch  of  the  day,  and  thus  have  extorted  from 
him  some  grant  of  territory  or  jurisdiction.  It  is  also  certain 
that  by  a  charter  from  James  IV.  dated  November  30,  1509, 
John  Murray  is  vested  with  the  dignity  of  heritable  sheriff  of 
Ettrick  Forest,  an  office  held  by  his  descendants  tiU  the  final 
abolition  of  such  jurisdiction,  by  28*^^  Geo.  II.  cap.  23." 

The  name  Moravia,  first  contracted  to  Moray,  then  altered  to 
Murray,  was  originally  Norman,  which  accounts  for  the  ready 
allegiance  to  the  English  king. 

The  ballad  connects  the  refusal  of  allegiance  with  the  grant 
of  the  sheriffalty,  but  Sir  Walter  supposes  the  former  event  to 
have  been  considerably  anterior  to  the  latter  ;  but  that  the  bard, 
"  willing  to  pay  his  court  to  the  family,"  combined  the  two 
as  in  direct  connection.  He  also  supposes  that  Murray  of 
1509  was  a  man  of  great  energy  of  character,  and  that  James 
IV.  was  willing  to  conciliate  him  that  he  might  engage  his 
services  to  keep  peace  on  the  border.  James  had  married 
the  Princess  Margaret,  a  daughter  of  Henry  VII.  of  England. 
Ettrick  Forest  was  claimed  by  the  Scottish  monarch  as  part  of 
the  crown  lands,  and  given  as  part  of  her  jointure  to  his  queen. 
He  was,  therefore,  desirous  that  Murray  should  be  engaged  in 
his  interest  as  a  defender  of  the  family  property.  "  In  order  to 
accomplish  this  object  it  was  natural  for  him,  according  to  the 
policy  of  his  predecessors,  to  invest  one  great  family  with  the 
power  of  keeping  order  among  the  rest.  It  is  even  probable 
that  the  Philiphaugh  family  may  have  had  claims  upon  part 
of  the  lordship  of  Ettrick  Forest,  which  lay  intermingled  with 
their  own  extensive  possessions.  .  .  • 


APPENDIX  297 

"  It  is  farther  probable  that  the  Murrays,  like  other  border 
clans,  were  in  a  very  lawless  state,  and  held  their  lands  merely 
by  occupancy,  without  any  feudal  right  [without  any  charter 
from  the  king  of  either  country].  Indeed,  the  lands  of  the  vari- 
ous proprietors  in  Ettrick  Forest  (being  a  royal  demesne)  were 
held  by  the  possessors,  not  in  property,  but  as  the  .  .  .  tenants  of 
the  crown  ;  and  it  is  only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  [this 
written  about  1800]  since  they  obtained  charters.  This  state 
of  possession  naturally  led  to  a  confusion  of  rights  and  claims. 
The  kings  of  Scotland  were  often  reduced  to  the  humiliating 
necessity  of  compromising  such  matters  with  their  rebellious 
subjects." 

Sir  Walter  Scott  supposes  the  scene  of  the  ballad  to  have 
been  "  Hangingshaw,  the  seat  of  the  Pliiliphaugh  family." 
"  The  merit  of  this  beautiful  old  tale,"  he  says,  "  it  is  thought, 
will  be  fully  acknowledged.  It  has  been  for  ages  a  popular 
song  in  Selkirkshire."  One  of  his  friends,  Mr.  Plummer,  the 
sheriff-depute  of  Selkirkshire,  assured  him  that  he  remembered 
the  insignia  of  the  unicorns  so  often  mentioned  in  the  ballad 
upon  the  old  tower  of  Hangingshaw.  This  tower  has  been 
demolished.  "  It  stood  in  a  romantic  and  solitary  situation  on 
the  classical  banks  of  the  Yarrow.  When  the  mountains  around 
Hangingshaw  were  covered  with  the  wild  copse  which  consti- 
tuted a  Scottish  forest,  a  more  secure  stronghold  for  an  outlawed 
baron  can  hardly  be  imagined."     See  in  the  ballad  the  line, 

"  0 !  gin  it  stands  not  pleasantlie  !  " 

The  tradition  of  Ettrick  Forest  describes  the  outlaw  Murray  as 
a  man  of  prodigious  strength,  and  that  he  was  at  length  slain 
by  Buccleuch,  or  some  of  his  clan,  on  a  little  mount  covered 
with  fir-trees  near  Newark  Castle.  A  varying  tradition  relates 
that  the  fatal  arrow  was  shot  by  Scott  of  Haining  from  a  ruined 
cottage  on  the  opposite  side  of  Yarrow.  There  were  extant  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  some  verses  on  his  death. 

Sir  Walter  composed  the  ballad  from  various  recitations, 
and  it  is  to  me  an  affecting  circumstance  that  two  stanzas  of  it 
were  repeated  to  him  by  that  ill-fated  traveler  Mungo  Park, 
from  whose  mind  the  legendary  love  of  his  country  was  never 


298  APPENDIX 

eradicated.  "The  arms  of  the  Philiphaugh  family  are  said 
to  allude  to  their  outlawed  state.  They  are  those  of  a  hunts- 
man, and  are  blazoned  thus  :  Argent,  a  hunting  horn  sahle, 
stringed  and  garnished  gules,  on  a  chief  azure,  three  stars  of  the 
first.  Crest,  a  demi-f  orester,  winding  his  horn  proper.  Motto  : 
Hmc  usque  superna  venaborJ" 

These  arms  are  engraved  upon  two  pieces  of  plate  formerly  ^ 
in  possession  of  Mrs.  S.  L.  Howe,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
This  lady  was  lineally  descended  from  the  Philiphaugh  family, 
her  great-grandfather,  Mr.  John  Murray,  having  been  a  younger 
brother  of  that  house.'^  His  son,  James  Murray,  Esq.,  the  grand- 
father of  Mrs.  Howe,  bequeathed  the  silver  vessels  to  his  daugh- 
ter, the  late  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bobbins. 

IV 

ROBERT  RENNET 

[From  Jeffrey's  History  and  Antiquities  of  Roxburghshire, 
vol.  ii.  p.  366.] 

Robert  Bennet  .  .  .  was  a  remarkable  man  in  his  day.  He  was 
a  stern  Presbyterian ;  and  for  maintaining  his  principles  was  re- 
peatedly fined  and  imprisoned.  In  1662  he  was  forced  to  pay 
1200  pounds  before  he  could  get  the  benefit  of  the  act  of  in- 
demnity. His  offense  was  desertion  of  his  parish  church  and 
refusing  to  attend  the  conforming  clergymen.  In  1670  he  at- 
tended the  open-air  ministrations  of  John  Blackadder  and 
others.  In  1676  he  was  charged  with  being  at  a  conventicle 
held  at  Selkirk  Common,  and  failing  to  appear  before  the  Privy 
Council  he  was  outlawed  and  his  goods  confiscated.  On  his 
being  apprehended  some  time  after  and  carried  before  the 
Privy  Council  the  charges  were  referred  to  his  oath  and  on  his 
refusing  to  swear  he  was  sentenced  to  be  carried  to  the  Bars 
and  imprisoned  until  further  orders.  He  was,  however,  detained 
in  Edinburgh  ToUbooth  and  again  taken  before  the  Council, 
charged  with  attending    field  conventicles    at    which    Welsh, 

1  Now  in  possession  of  Archibald  M.  Howe  and  James  Murray  Howe. 

2  There  is  a  slight  error  here.  It  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Howe's  great- 
grandfather who  was  the  younger  brother  of  that  house. 


APPENDIX  299 

Blackadder,  and  others  preached,  and  also  harboring  and  reset- 
ting in  his  own  house  Welsh  and  others.  On  being  examined 
he  admitted  the  charges,  but  refused  to  refrain  from  attending 
conventicles  or  to  attend  his  own  parish  church.  For  his  con- 
tumacy he  was  fined  in  4000  merks  and  ordained  to  be  impris- 
oned in  the  Bars  till  the  fine  was  paid.  In  February,  1678,  a 
petition  was  presented  by  Mrs.  Bennet  praying  that  her  hus- 
band might  be  liberated  from  prison  to  attend  ujDon  her  death- 
bed. Interest  having  been  made  with  the  Duke  of  Lauderdale 
and  the  Bishop,  leave  was  granted  him  to  go  to  Chesters  till 
18th  of  March  following,  on  which  day  he  was  to  reenter  the 
Bars  under  penalty  of  4000  merks.  In  1680  he  was  again 
imprisoned  in  the  Bars  because  he  would  not  forbear  attending 
Covenanting  preachers.  After  suffering  imprisonment  for 
eleven  months  he  was  liberated  upon  paying  1000  merks. 
Bennet  was  alive  in  1701.  His  descendants  continued  to  pos- 
sess the  manor  for  four  succeeding  generations.^ 


DR.  JOHN  MURRAY  OF  NORWICH 

[Extracts  from  "A  General  History  of  the  County  of  Norfolk,'* 
Norwich,  1829,  vol.  ii.  p.  1204,  et  seq.  Published  anonymously, 
but  a  note  in  the  British  Museum  copy  gives  John  Chambers  as 
author.^] 

John  Murray,  M.  D.,  the  founder  of  the  Scot's  Society,  etc. 
in  Norwich,  resided  for  a  few  years  in  this  parish  (i.  e.  St. 
Simon  and  Jude).  This  amicable  philanthropist  was  a  native 
of  Scotland,  and  born  January  29,  1720,  at  Unthank,  in  Esk- 
dale ;  he  served  for  many  years  as  a  surgeon  in  His  Majesty's 
Navy,  but  having  received  his  diploma  from  Edinburgh,  re- 
tired from  the  service  upon  half  pay,  and  in  1751  settled  at 
Wells  in  this  county,  where  he  practiced  as  a  physician  till 
1768,  when  he  removed  to  this  city  (Norwich).  Here  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  encouraging  every  charitable  pursuit,  and 
was  one  of  the  first  and  most  zealous  promoters  of  the  Norfolk 

1  The  extracts  were  made  by  F.  B.  Forbes,  from  the  copy  in  the  British 
Museum,  in  1885. 


300  APPEKDIX 

and  Norwich  hospital,  which  he  afterwards  attended  with  the 
utmost  perseverance  and  assiduity,  until  within  a  short  time  of 
his  death,  when  increasing  infirmities  obliged  him  to  relinquish 
an  employment  so  congenial  to  his  humane  and  benevolent  dis- 
position. He  also  founded  the  Scot's  Society  in  Norwich,^  to 
assist  those  of  his  distressed  countrymen  who  could  claim  no 
parish  relief,  and  as  it  flourished  beyond  his  hopes,  through  the 
patronage  of  the  Earl  of  Rosebery,  Sir  William  Jerningham, 
and  various  other  subscribers,  he  extended  the  benefit  of  the 
society  to  foreigners  of  all  nations.  Dr.  Murray  died  in  the 
parish  of  St.  Andrew,  September  26,  1792,  and  was  buried  in 
Wells  churchyard,  where  on  a  square  column  is  the  following 
inscription  :  — 

East  Side :    I.  M.  M.  D.  Hie  situs  est  Pater,  Filius,  Frater, 
omnium  amicus.    Hostes  caetera  dicant. 
Love  ye  the  stranger. 
Be  ye  wise  as  Serpents  and  harmless  as  Doves. 

West  Side  :  John  Murray,  M.  D.,  died  September  26, 1792. 
Aged  71  years  :  a  man  universally  beloved,  and  eminently  dis- 
tinguished by  his  domestic  virtues,  unaffected  piety,  profes- 
sional abilities,  and  entensive  benevolence,  to  whose  memory 
this  column  is  erected  by  his  affectionate  widow  and  children. 

North  Side  :  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mary  Murray  aged 

1  The  Scot's  Society  in  Norwich  was  founded  November  30,  1775,  in  the 
following  manner.  It  had  been  customary  for  the  natives  of  Scotland  re- 
siding in  this  city  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  St.  Andrew  with  some  degree 
of  cheerfulness :  at  the  breaking  up  of  one  of  these  anniversary  meetings, 
the  company  being  pretty  large,  an  overplus  of  8s/6d  was  found  in  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Murray,  who  collected  the  reckoning  and  who  proposed  mak- 
ing it  a  fund  for  the  purpose  mentioned  above  :  to  this  sum  10s  were  added, 
being  money  put  under  a  hat,  as  proposed  by  the  collector,  to  relieve  any 
Scotchman  who  might  come  to  Norwich  in  distress,  and  might  need  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  this  small  sum.  The  year  passed  without  any  claim 
being  made,  and  the  same  idea  being  pursued  at  the  next  anniversary, 
1775,  when  the  sum  collected  amounted  to  upwards  of  £3,  the  society  was 
regularly  formed,  and  in  1784  altered  its  name  to  that  of  "  The  Society  of 
Universal  Good  Will."  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Murray  the  society  gradu- 
ally declined,  and  what  remained  of  its  funds  was  transferred  with  the 
consent  of  its  patrons  to  the  Society  of  Friends  of  Foreigners  in  Distress 
and  other  institutions  of  a  similar  nature  in  London. 


APPEOT)IX  301 

eighty-eight.  Widow  of  the  late  Dr.  John  Murray.  After  an 
exemplary  fulfillment  of  the  various  duties  of  a  wife,  a  mother, 
and  of  a  pious  Christian,  her  meek  spirit  was  called  to  receive 
the  reward  of  the  righteous,  on  the  7th  March,  1819. 

South  Side :  In  the  same  grave  with  those  of  his  father,  are 
deposited  the  remains  of  Thomas  Archibald  Murray,  M.  D., 
late  of  London,  who  in  all  respects  exemplified  the  character  of 
his  revered  parent.  Cut  off  in  the  flower  of  his  youth,  he  yet 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  a  long  life.  His  task  accompUshed,  his 
pure  spirit  was  summoned  home,  to  receive  the  reward  of  piety 
and  virtue,  on  the  16th  day  of  March,  1802,  in  the  28th  year  of 
his  age. 

Dr.  Murray  was  the  author  of  works  on  "  The  Gradual  Abo- 
lition of  Slavery,"  on  the  "  Medical  Department  of  the  Navy," 
and  "  Tracts  relating  to  the  Scot's  Society  in  Norwich,"  etc. 

VI 

LETTER  FROM  MARY  MURRAY  TO  MRS.  BARNES 

Norwich,  October  10th,  1792. 
I  will  not  tell  you  in  the  language  of  complaint  that  I  have 
lost  the  best  and  most  indulgent  of  Fathers,  the  kindest  and 
most  affectionate  of  Friends  —  let  me  rather  endeavor  to  in- 
form you  my  Dear  Aunt,  with  the  composure  of  a  Christian 
that  my  beloved  Parent  was  released  from  his  sufferings  on  the 
26th  of  last  month  and  I  trust  is  in  possession  of  that  high  re- 
ward allotted  to  those  who  by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing 
seek  for  Glory  and  Honor,  and  Immortality  —  yet  the  weak- 
ness of  my  nature  strives  with  that  firm  faith  which  his  saint 
like  spirit  labored  to  implant  in  my  mind  and  till  this  evening 
I  have  felt  myself  unequal  to  the  task  of  retracing  scenes  which 
can  never  be  blotted  from  my  memory,  and  this  is  the  first  vol- 
untary product  of  my  pen  since  the  miserable  day  on  which  I 
last  addressed  you.  Prepared  as  we  ought  to  have  been  for  the 
event,  I  was  harassed  beyond  description  on  its  approach.  The 
night  of  the  24th  I  passed  at  the  bed-side  of  my  Father,  whose 
senses  were  then  on  the  verge  of  departure,  and  till  near  two  in 


302  APPENDIX 

the  morning  he  gave  manifest  tokens  of  pain  ;  a  little  interval 
of  ease  was  succeeded  by  total  insensibility  and  in  that  state  he 
continued  till  between  three  and  four  the  next  morning  when  he 
resigned  his  guileless  spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Creator  with- 
out a  groan.  My  Dear  Mother  and  all  her  Children  took  their 
final  leave  some  hours  before  :  my  Aunt  and  my  beloved  friend 
supplied  our  place  and  Charles  was  called  before  the  scene  was 
closed.  I  cannot  regret  my  absence  at  the  time  —  I  had  staid 
by  him  to  the  last  moment  that  it  was  possible  to  be  of  use  or 
comfort  to  him  and  the  hour  of  trial  was  at  hand  which  called 
for  a  renovation  of  strength  and  spirits.  My  only  Parent  was 
now  to  be  comforted  ;  at  first  she  shed  no  tears  but  the  sight  of 
her  children  produced  the  salutary  shower  which  relieved  her  and 
I  am  truly  thankful  that  I  can  now  add  that  she  is  tolerably  well, 
since  the  last  duties  were  performed  and  that  the  mournful  pre- 
paration for  them  seemed  to  excite  her  to  exertions  of  which  a  less 
perfect  affection  would  have  been  incapable.  It  was  my  Father's 
wish  to  be  buried  with  his  Children  at  Wells,  and  my  Brothers 
were  earnest  that  aU  his  wishes  should  be  fulfilled  as  far  as 
their  power  could  extend.  On  the  morning  of  the  30th  the 
whole  family  met  at  breakfast  and  after  bidding  my  Mother  a 
solemn  farewell  we  began  our  melancholy  journey.  My  Aunt 
whom  my  Father  had  requested  to  see  him  interred,  my  Sister 
PoweU  and  Eliza,  Charles,  Tom  and  the  first  pledge  of  his  love 
as  he  used  tenderly  to  call  me,  followed  the  Hearse  in  a  Mourn- 
ing Coach  —  James  the  2d,  Mr.  Brownes  William  and  Grant 
on  horseback.  We  passed  through  many  ViUages  where  my 
Father  was  known  and  loved,  and  the  manners  of  the  people 
were  in  unison  with  our  feelings,  silent  and  dejected.  About 
three  miles  from  Wells  we  were  met  by  some  friends  and  be- 
fore we  reached  the  Town,  great  part  of  its  inhabitants  joined 
the  mournful  procession.  We  stopt  at  the  Church  gate  about 
5  o'clock  —  there  my  Uncle  met  us  and  the  whole  of  the  Cere- 
mony was  performed  in  a  manner  equal  to  our  most  sanguine 
wishes.  The  blessings  of  the  poor,  and  the  affectionate  respect 
of  his  equals  followed  my  dearest  Father  to  his  grave,  while 
the  tear  of  sympathy  alleviated  the  sorrow  of  his  children  and 
friends.     The  next  morning  Mrs.  Powell  and  myself  paid  our 


APPENDIX  303 

last  visit  to  the  earthly  repository  of  our  Father  and  I  hope 
while  I  remain  in  this  part  of  the  world  to  be  indulged  with  an 
annual  journey  to  the  place  of  my  nativity  endeared  to  me  by 
the  reflection  that  more  than  20  years  of  absence  had  not  de- 
prived us  of  its  esteem.  On  our  return  home  we  found  my 
Mother  better  than  we  could  have  supposed.  Charlotte/  Helen 
and  our  good  friends  the  Miss  Brittinghams  had  staid  with  her 
in  our  absence  by  turns.  My  own  feelings  on  this  occasion  I 
cannot  describe,  nor  do  I  wish  you  to  conceive  them.  We  are 
yet  busy  and  unsettled ;  much  is  to  be  done,  after  all  is  over 
little  will  remain  but  that  little,  I  have  reason  to  believe  will  be 
wholly  devoted  to  my  Mother  —  at  least  it  is  my  fervent  wish 
and  earnest  desire  that  it  should  he  so,  and  I  have  not  a  doubt, 
nay  I  am  certain  of  the  concurrence  of  all  who  have  any  right 
to  interfere  in  the  business.  My  sister  has  been  busied  in  fit- 
ting her  two  eldest  Boys  for  school ;  they  left  us  on  Monday. 
Helen  goes  in  a  few  days.  My  Aunt  has  left  us  so  we  are  on 
the  reduced  or  reducing  system.  Mrs.  P.  hopes  you  will  excuse 
her  a  little  longer  —  for  the  reasons  I  have  alledged  and  for  the 
present  you  must,  my  Dear  Aunt,  extend  your  indulgence  to 
me,  for  I  am  sensible  this  letter  is  too  prolix,  too  particular  — 
yet  as  you  have  wandered  with  me  in  the  labjTinth  of  perplexi- 
ties for  so  long  a  time  I  could  not  avoid  wishing  for  your  so- 
ciety a  little  longer,  till  we  find  the  friendly  clue  which  is  to 
conduct  us  to  a  peaceful  Home.  If  you  wish  to  have  a  tran- 
script of  my  dear  Fathers  character  from  the  Pubhc  Papers, 
my  next  letter  shall  inclose  it  to  you  and  in  this  I  must  mention 
that  he  has  left  no  Will,  but  in  his  memorandum  Book  was 
found  a  request  that  "  as  soon  as  might  be  convenient  to  the 
Minister  of  the  Parish,  and  his  own  family,  he  desired  a  Plain 
Practical  Sermon  might  be  preached  at  the  Parish  Church 
from  the  third  verse  of  the  12th  Chapter  of  Daniel  "  —  fre- 
quently would  he  have  this  chapter  read  to  him,  and  with  a 
voice  softened  by  humility  would  say  "  I  hope  I  have  turned 
many  to  righteousness,  and  when  the  last  comes  shall  be  per- 
mitted to  stand  in  my  place.''     A  few  days  before  my  Father's 

1  Dr.  Murray's  daughter,  afterwards  Mrs.  Brown,  and  author  of  "  Judah's 
Lion,"  a  religious  work  once  widely  read. 


304  APPEXDIX 

departure,  lie  was  sufficiently  sensible  to  ask  me  to  read  and 
pray  by  him.  You  will  believe  I  was  not  slow  to  obey  him,  and 
could  you  but  have  seen  him  at  the  moment  when  he  closed  his 
expressive  eyes  and  lifted  his  trembling  hands  to  Heaven,  you 
would  have  acknowledged  that  he  was  fitted  for  the  society  of 
just  men  made  i:terfect.  Oh,  may  the  Almighty  look  down 
with  equal  favor  upon  us  to  lead  us  in  the  path  of  everlasting 
life  there  if  needful  to  the  perfection  of  happiness,  we  shall  all 
know  each  other,  or  find  every  human  tie  superceded  by  affec- 
tion of  a  superior  kind ! 

\Octoher\  11th. 
My  spirits  were  so  exhausted  last  night  that  I  quitted  you, 
my  Dear  Aunt,  rather  abruptly  and  even  now  cannot  sufficiently 
collect  my  ideas  to  enter  upon  less  interesting  subjects.  Every 
day  seems  to  realize  the  frightful  dream  in  which  I  have  been 
so  long  engaged,  and  even  the  hurry  of  business  cannot  divest 
my  mind  of  painful  recollections,  but  a  truce  with  complainings. 
My  next  will  I  hope  be  less  gloomy,  for  I  shall  continue  these 
narrations  from  time  to  time  because  you  say  they  amuse  you 
and  because  I  feel  myself  gratified  by  the  tender  interest  you 
take  in  what  concerns  us.  James  is  a  kind  and  attentive 
Brother  —  he  seems  disposed  to  make  us  all  comfortable  and 
my  Mother  feels  infinite  consolation  in  his  presence.  The  chil- 
dren engage  her  attention  and  are  much  attached  to  her,  but 
she  has  some  complaints  which  make  me  fear  her  constitution 
has  received  material  injury  and  this  is  not  a  season  for  her  to 
try  change  of  air  and  scene.  Anne's  health  seems  quite  estab- 
lished. Elizabeth's  is  not  so  good  and  poor  Tom  is  just  recover- 
ing from  the  shock  his  Father's  death  occasioned.  He  was 
drooping  many  days  before  but  I  hope  a  short  time  will  restore 
his  pristine  strength.  We  are  going  to  send  him  into  the 
Country  ;  it  is  now  too  late  for  him  to  go  to  Edinburgh  this 
year.  We  have  all  had  a  loss  but  that  he  sustains  is  the  most 
serious  and  severe,  however,  I  hope  his  Brothers  will  complete 
his  education  according  to  the  wishes  of  the  best  of  Men  and 
Fathers.  In  speaking  of  the  family  I  must  not  omit  mention- 
ing my  chief  comfort  and  support.  He  is  well  and  always 
a  welcome  guest  among  us ;  perhaps  Ann  when  she  writes  will 


APPENDIX  305 

give  you  her  opinion  of  him  and  if  I  may  judge  from  her  con- 
duct, she  feels  prejudiced  in  his  favor.  He  is  quite  charmed 
with  her  graceful  person  and  pleasing  manners,  and  I  look 
forward  to  a  less  uncomfortable  winter  than  my  former  fears 
had  anticipated. 

God  bless  you  my  dear  Friends.     Accept  the  united  regards, 
of  this  family  and  beheve  me, 

Your  dutiful  and  affectionate  Niece 

M.  Murray. 

VII 

BONDS  GIVEN  BY  MRS.  INMAN  TO  JOHN  AND  RALPH 
FORBES 

To  John  Forbes,   son  of  Dorothy  Forbes,  now  resident  in 
Cambridge,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex  Greeting  :  as  an  encour- 
agement to  you,  to  induce  on  your  part  a  due  attention  to  your 
studies  during  your  continuance  at  Harvard  Colledge,  a  proper 
observance  of  the  rules  and  regulations  prescribed  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  said  Colledge,  and  to  excite  in  you  a  suitable  emula- 
tion to  such  a  universal  deportment  as  well  to  the  government 
of  said  Colledge  as  to  all  to  whom  you  shall  in  any  relation  stand- 
as  shall  at  all  times  be  consonant  to  your  rank  and  character,  I, 
EHzabeth  Inman  of  Cambridge,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex, 
wife  of  Ralph  Inman  of   the  same  Cambridge,  Esquire,    do 
hereby  on  my  part  for  myseK,  my  heirs  executors  and  admin- 
istrators promise  and  engage  to  and  with  you  the  said  John 
Forbes  that  if  you  shall  during  your  continuance  at  and  mem- 
bership of  said  ^CoUedge  conduct  yourself  in  such  manner  as 
to  receive  the  honors  of  said  CoUedge  by  having  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  arts  confered  on  you  and  in  every  respect  so  as  to 
meet  the  approbation  of  your  mother  the  said  Dorothy  Forbes 
and  of  your  aunt  Miss  Elizabeth  Murray  then  and  in  such  case 
whensoever  the  said  Dorothy  and  Elizabeth  after  your  being  so 
graduated  shall  in  any  express  manner  signify  their  said  appro- 
bation of  your  conduct  and  deportment,  immediately  thereupon 
I  wiU  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  to  you  the  said  John  Forbes 
whether  of  full  age  or  not  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  pounds  and  six  shillings  and  eight  pence  lawful  silver 


306  APPENDIX 

money  to  your  own  absolute  use  the  same  not  to  be  subject  to 
the  controul  or  management  of  any  one. 

In  witness  whereof  I  the  said  Elizabeth  have  hereunto  set 
mine  hand  and  seal  this  twelvth  day  of  July  in  the  year  of  our 
lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-three. 

Eliz  :  Inman. 
Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  presence  of 
Edward  H.  Robbins. 

A  second  bond,  in  substantially  the  same  terms,  was  given  by 
Mrs.  Inman  to  Ralph  Forbes. 

VIII 

DOROTHY  FORBES 

Although  Mr.  Murray  speaks  so  disparagingly  of  his  chil- 
dren's and  nieces'  habits  of  industry  and  occupation,  it  is  prob- 
ably an  exaggeration  of  the  usual  love  of  diversion  which 
possesses  all  young  people,  under  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
which  it  would  be  a  pity  to  be  without.  Certainly  it  was  not 
true  of  Dorothy,  who  from  her  cliildhood  was  a  most  devoted 
and  disinterested  worker  and  helper,  equal  to  any  emergency. 
She  was  as  industrious  as  she  was  vivacious.  I  recall  the  beau- 
tiful recollections  my  mother  and  aunt  gave  of  her  after  she 
became  an  almost  helpless  invalid  from  rheumatic  gout.  They 
were  little  girls,  and  for  some  three  or  four  years  were  em- 
ployed to  carry  her  meals  to  her  room,  and  sit  by  her  while 
she  ate  them.  They  described  her  cheerful  spirit,  in  the  midst 
of  pain  —  her  love  of  the  best  books,  from  which  she  cuUed  pas- 
sages to  read  to  them,  and  from  which  aU  three  gathered  much 
instruction,  and  discussed  either  with  serious  zest  or  with  merri- 
ment. In  the  book,  "  Recollections  of  my  Mother,"  on  the 
438th  page,  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  which  Mrs.  Lyman  wrote 
to  her  daughter  in  China,  in  which  is  a  paragraph  on  her  Aunt 
Forbes's  fine  influence  on  her  nieces.  S.  I.  L. 


APPENDIX  307 

IX 

BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICE   OF  HON.   JAMES  MURRAY 
ROBBINS 

BY  HON.    ROGER   WOLCOTT 
[Reprinted  by  permission  of  the  Massacliusetts  Historical  Society] 

James  Murray  Robbins  was  born  and  died  in  the  town  of 
Milton.  In  him  were  united  many  strains  of  the  old  Puritan 
blood  of  the  early  migrations  to  the  Colony.  It  was  perhaps 
this  inheritance  which  constrained  him  and  many  of  his  ances- 
tors to  be  useful  and  prominent  in  town  and  state  affairs,  and 
which  tended  also  to  make  his  mind  conservative  of  the  old 
methods  and  ideas  when  called  upon  to  meet  new  questions 
which  the  later  years  brought  for  solution. 

His  first  ancestor  bearing  the  name  of  Robbins  in  America 
was  Richard,  who,  with  his  wife  Rebecca,  established  himself 
on  the  southerly  side  of  Charles  River,  in  Cambridge. 

The  third  son  of  Richard  was  Nathaniel,  —  born,  as  was  his 
father,  in  Scotland,  —  who  married  Mary  Brazier,  and  lies  in 
the  Old  Cambridge  burying-ground.  His  oldest  son,  Nathan- 
iel, was  born  Feb.  28,  1678,  and  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 
William  Chandler,  of  Andover,  and  Mary  Dane. 

Their  third  son,  born  Aug.  11,  1703,  was  Thomas  Rob- 
bins, whose  second  son,  by  his  first  wife,  Ruth  Johnson,  was 
Nathaniel,  born  April  17,  1726  (H.  U.  1747).  After  his  grad- 
uation he  pursued  at  Cambridge  the  study  of  theology,  and  in 
1751  was  ordained  minister  of  the  church  in  Milton,  in  wliich 
office  he  died  May  19,  1795.  During  this  long  pastorate  of 
forty-four  years,  covering  the  period  of  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  performed  his  duties  both  as  minister  and  as  citizen 
with  zeal  and  self-devotion.  His  sympathy  and  support  were 
given  to  the  popular  cause,  and  in  1788  he  represented  the  town 
in  the  convention  which  adopted  the  Federal  Constitution.  A 
good  if  not  brilliant  preacher,  a  healer  of  strife  whether  between 
churches  or  individuals,  a  man  of  sagacity  and  penetration,  pos- 
sessed of  "  a  very  accurate  acquaintance  with  human  nature," 
"  he  carried  his  amiable  quality  so  far  that  even  when  those 


308  APPEI^DIX 

were  mentioned  who  were  blasted  and  flagitious,  it  was  his  cus- 
tom to  suggest  an  extenuation  if  possible."  From  contemjDo- 
rary  evidence,  too,  we  are  assured  that  "in  prayer  he  was 
remarkable  for  copiousness  and  facility  of  expression,  and  at 
funerals  in  particular  he  was  admired  for  a  variety  of  pathetic 
sentiments  pertinent  to  every  person  immediately  concerned, 
and  to  each  incident  that  occurred."  His  wife  was  Elizabeth, 
youngest  child  of  the  Hon.  Edward  Hutchinson,  and  Lydia, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  John  Foster,  who  was  a  leading  merchant 
and  for  many  years  Councillor. 

Edward  Hutchinson  came  of  a  distinguished  family,  was  for 
many  years  Judge  of  Probate  for  Suffolk  County,  and  was 
Treasurer  of  Harvard  College  from  1726  until  his  death  in 
1752.  He  was  uncle  of  Thomas  Hutchinson,  who  has  received 
undeserved  opprobrium  as  the  last  royal  governor  of  the  Pro- 
vince. His  father,  Elisha  Hutchinson,  Representative,  Assist- 
ant, and  Councillor,  was  the  son  of  Colonel  Edward  Hutchin- 
son, who  met  his  death  in  an  ambuscade  in  King  PhiHp's  War. 
Colonel  Hutchinson  was  the  son  of  William  Hutchinson  and 
his  more  famous  wife,  Ann  Marbury,  whose  heretical  theology 
caused  her  banishment  by  the  austere  Puritanism  of  the  Bay 
Colony,  and  who  finally  fell  a  victim,  as  did  her  son,  to  the 
tomahawk  of  the  savage. 

The  oldest  son  of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  and  Elizabeth  Robbins 
was  Edward  Hutchinson  Robbins,  born  Feb.  19,  1758  (H.  U. 
1775).  After  admission  to  the  bar  in  1779  he  established 
himself  in  Milton,  and  entered  upon  a  long  career  of  useful 
and  honorable  service  to  his  native  town  and  to  the  State. 
When  only  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  was  elected  a  delegate 
to  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  Massachu- 
setts, being  the  youngest  member  of  that  distinguished  body. 
For  fourteen  years  he  represented  the  town  of  Milton  in  the 
Legislature,  and  for  nine  years  he  occupied  the  Speaker's  chair. 
For  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  this  position  he  was  ex- 
ceptionally qualified  both  by  temperament  and  attainments.  In 
1795  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  a  commission  to  buy  the 
necessary  land  and  erect  a  new  State  House,  the  vote  creating 
the  commission  also  authorizing  the  sale  of  the  Province  House 


APPENDIX  309 

and  the  release  to  the  town  of  Boston  of  the  State's  interest  in 
the  Old  State  House.  For  ninety  years  the  structure  then 
erected  has  well  sustained  the  test  of  changing  taste.  In  1796 
he  was  elected  by  the  House  of  Representatives  to  the  United 
States  Senate ;  but  in  this  choice  the  other  branch  of  the  Legis- 
lature failed  to  concur,  on  the  ground  that  the  commercial  inter- 
ests of  the  State  should  be  represented  by  a  merchant  rather 
than  by  a  lawyer,  and  Mr.  Goodhue,  of  Salem,  was  finally 
elected  by  the  two  Houses.  For  four  years  he  filled  the  office 
of  Lieutenant-Governor  during  the  official  term  of  Governor 
Strong.  He  was  for  seventeen  years  Judge  of  Probate  for 
Norfolk  County,  and  throughout  his  long  and  useful  life  his  ser- 
vices were  in  constant  requisition,  both  in  public  and  private 
station  ;  for  his  integrity  and  sound  judgment  rendered  them  of 
great  value.  He  early  became  deeply  interested  in  the  purchase 
and  settlement  of  the  Commonwealth  lands  in  Maine,  and  for 
more  than  forty  years  made  annual  visits  to  the  region  near 
Passamaquoddy.  The  profit  from  these  investments  did  not 
accrue  in  his  lifetime ;  but  his  name  is  perpetuated  in  the  town 
of  Robbinston  on  the  St.  Croix  River,  which  attained  consider- 
able importance  as  a  shipbuilding  and  trading  port,  until  the 
decline  of  this  industry  checked  the  town's  growth  and  con- 
verted its  population  from  a  seafaring  to  an  agricultural 
community. 

In  November,  1785,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Murray, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  James  Murray  and  Barbara  Bennet. 
Mr.  Mm'ray  emigrated  from  Philiphaugh,  Scotland,  where  his 
grandfather  was  hereditary  sheriff  of  Selkirk,  to  North  Caro- 
lina, and  established  himself  as  a  planter  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River.  He  here  became  a  member  of  the  Council  of  that  Pro- 
vince ;  but  in  1765,  having  lost  his  wife  and  several  children, 
he  removed  to  Boston  with  his  two  surviving  daughters,  who 
afterwards  became  Mrs.  John  Forbes  and  Mrs.  E.  H.  Robbins. 

Mr.  Murray's  sister  was  the  wife  of  James  Smith,  whose 
sugar-house  stood  next  below  Brattle  Street  Church,  and  was 
occupied  as  barracks  by  Colonel  Dalrymple's  regiment,  whence 
Captain  Preston's  company  marched  to  the  Boston  Massacre. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith  his  widow  gave  to  her  two  nieces 


310  APPENDIX 

the  estate  on  Brush  Hill,  in  Milton,  where,  soon  after  1734,  Mr. 
Smith  had  built  the  house  in  which  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
was  to  pass  the  greater  part  of  his  life.  Edward  Hutchinson 
Robbins  died  in  Boston,  Dec.  29, 1829,  and  was  deeply  mourned 
by  his  friends  and  neighbors. 

James  Murray  Robbins,  his  sixth  child,  was  born  June  30, 
1796,  in  the  old  Gooch  house  on  Milton  Hill.  "When  he  was 
nine  years  old  his  father  removed  from  Milton  HiU  to  Brush 
Hill,  within  the  same  town,  making  his  residence  in  the  Smith 
house,  which  had  become  the  property  of  his  wife  ;  and  here, 
eighty  years  later,  the  son  died.  He  received  his  school  educa- 
tion at  the  Milton  Academy,  which  his  father  had  been  largely 
instrumental  in  founding,  and  of  whose  board  of  trustees  the 
father  and  son  filled  the  office  of  president  for  seventy-six 
years.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  entered  the  counting-room  of 
the  prominent  Boston  merchants,  James  and  Thomas  Handasyd 
Perkins,  and  there  acquired  a  thorough  training  in  business 
habits. 

But  the  time  was  not  propitious  for  commercial  enterprise 
or  success  ;  the  widespread  stagnation  of  business,  consequent 
upon  the  blockade  maintained  by  the  British  fleet,  and  the 
hardly  less  oppressive  acts  of  our  own  government,  seemed  to 
bar  the  way  to  entering  upon  the  career  of  a  merchant.  In 
1814  his  cousin,  John  Murray  Forbes,  who  was  consul-general 
at  Hamburg,  invited  him  to  accept  official  employment  at  the 
consulate  ;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  how  gladly  the  boy 
of  eighteen  must  have  exchanged  the  round  of  dull  and  apa- 
thetic duty  in  the  counting-room  for  the  excitement  of  the 
voyage  and  of  foreign  travel. 

Nor  was  his  journey  to  Hamburg  devoid  of  incident.  Pas- 
sage was  taken  in  a  Swedish  brig  to  sail  from  New  York ;  and 
Mr.  Robbins  reached  that  city  by  the  way  of  Albany,  passing 
down  the  Hudson  by  steamer.  While  awaiting  the  sailing  of 
the  brig,  he  gave  two  days  of  volunteer  service  in  throwing 
up  intrenchments  on  Brooklyn  Heights.  The  brig,  after 
many  delays,  put  to  sea,  but  when  off  Block  Island  was  cap- 
tured by  a  British  cruiser,  and  taken  to  Gardiner's  Bay,  where 
was  the  rendezvous  of  the  squadron.     On  the  ground  that  the 


APPENDIX  311 

vessel  was  owned  in  Connecticut,  the  admiral  adjudged  her 
to  be  lawful  prize,  and,  placing  her  under  command  of  a 
prize-officer,  ordered  him  to  report  at  Plymouth,  England. 
Mr.  Robbins  was  the  only  American  on  board,  and  was  there- 
fore, unlike  the  others,  made  prisoner  of  war.  On  reaching 
the  Enghsh  port,  however,  his  extreme  youth,  and,  it  is  said, 
the  kindly  interest  of  some  ladies  who  had  been  his  fellow- 
passengers,  interceded  in  his  behalf,  and  he  was  released.  It 
must  be  admitted  that  a  considerable  experience  had  been 
crowded  into  a  brief  time  for  the  lad  who  had  so  recently  left 
the  provincial  and  beleaguered  town  of  Boston. 

On  reaching  London,  the  anxiety  and  perhaps  suffering  of 
the  voyage  were  doubtless  succeeded  by  admiration  and  wonder  ; 
for  the  great  metropolis  was  celebrating  with  pageant  and  fete 
and  every  demonstration  of  popular  rejoicing  the  return  of 
European  peace,  and  the  relief  which  it  brought  from  the  intol- 
erable burdens  of  almost  universal  war. 

But  the  adventures  which  were  to  attend  his  journey  to 
Hamburg  were  not  yet  ended.  The  vessel  in  which  he  soon 
again  embarked  in  London  for  his  destination  went  ashore  in 
a  dense  fog  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe.  The  wind  was  strong, 
and  the  danger  of  the  vessel  going  to  pieces  was  great ;  but 
after  several  hours  of  exposure  the  passengers  and  crew  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  a  landing,  saving,  however,  from  the  wreck 
only  the  clothing  they  wore.  They  were  upon  an  island,  and 
found  shelter  in  the  light-house,  until,  some  days  after,  a  boat 
transported  them  to  the  mainland.  After  such  adventures, 
and  in  a  destitute  condition,  did  Mr.  Robbins  at  length  reach 
Hamburg,  where  the  warm  greeting  of  his  kinsman,  Mr. 
Forbes,  must  have  been  not  unwelcome  to  him.  He  at  once 
set  himself  resolutely  to  learn  the  German  language,  entering 
for  this  purpose  the  family  of  a  country  clergyman,  and  even- 
tually acquired  a  rare  accuracy  and  facility  both  of  expression 
and  pronunciation. 

In  1815  Mr.  Forbes  was  summoned  from  his  post  of  duty  by 
Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams  for  conference  in  regard  to  the  nego- 
tiation of  commercial  treaties  with  foreign  powers,  and  Mr. 
Robbins  was  left  in  charge  of  the  consulate  with  the  title  of 


312  APPENDIX 

vice-consul.  The  peace  was  of  short  duration.  The  news  of 
Napoleon's  escape  from  Elba  electrified  Eurojje,  and  the  weeks 
of  fevered  excitement  which  followed  culminated  at  Waterloo. 
Soon  the  streets  of  Hamburg  echoed  the  tread  of  Blucher's  vet- 
erans ;  and  at  a  civic  banquet  given  to  the  victor,  to  which  the 
representatives  of  all  foreign  governments  were  invited,  the 
boy  of  nineteen  represented  the  United  States.  After  Mr. 
Forbes's  return  to  Hamburg,  Mr.  Bobbins  by  his  orders  acted 
for  some  time  as  consul  at  Elsinore,  —  a  residence  which  could 
not  have  been  barren  of  vivid  and  lasting  impressions. 

Mr.  Forbes  was  subsequently  transferred  to  Rio  Janeiro  ; 
and  Mr.  Robbins,  then  about  twenty-one,  returned  to  Boston. 
In  three  years  he  had  indeed  seen  much,  had  breathed  the  edu- 
cating atmosphere  of  stirring  events,  and  had  learned  the 
important  lesson  of  self-reliance. 

For  two  years  he  made  voyages  as  supercargo  to  the  West 
Indies  and  the  Baltic  in  the  interest  of  his  old  employers,  and 
then  entered  into  a  partnership  with  liis  elder  brother,  Edward 
Hutchinson  Robbins,  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  woolen 
goods.  In  the  commercial  panic  of  1829  the  firm  went  down 
in  the  prevalent  ruin,  and  Mr.  Robbins  seems  then  to  have  re- 
solved never  to  expose  himself  to  a  recurrence  of  like  ill-fortune. 
He  did  not  again  engage  in  business  on  his  own  account ;  but 
his  peculiar  fitness,  acquired  through  the  varied  experience  of 
these  past  years,  led  to  his  appointment  by  some  of  the  lead- 
ing woolen  manufacturers  of  New  England  as  agent  for  the 
purchase  of  wool  in  Germany.  This  transferred  him  again 
to  the  scene  of  his  former  official  duties  ;  and  there  he  now 
spent  a  year  and  a  half,  for  which  he  was  liberally  compen- 
sated. 

Before  his  departure  he  had,  with  the  help  of  a  guide, 
made  a  careful  and  extended  survey  of  a  large  part  of  the 
almost  untrodden  wilderness  of  Maine,  led  thereto  by  his 
father's  large  interests  in  the  pine  forests  of  Passamaquoddy  ; 
and,  impressed  by  the  future  importance  of  this  product,  he 
had  himself  secured,  by  purchase  from  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  a  tract  of  20,000  acres  near  the  Schoodic  Lakes. 
On  his  return  from  Germany  in  1834, —  although  the  days  had 


APPENDIX  313 

not  yet  come  of  the  great  speculation  in  Maine  lands,  which 
was  to  prove  so  disastrous  to  many,  —  he  was  able  to  sell  this 
land  at  a  very  large  advance  upon  the  purchase  money. 

In  the  same  year  he  married  Frances  Mary  Harris,  daughter 
of  Abel  Harris,  of  Portsmouth,  and  Rooksby  Coffin,  daughter  of 
William  Coffin,  of  Boston,  a  cousin  of  Admiral  Sir  Isaac  Coffin. 
They  had  no  children ;  but  the  marriage  proved  a  most  happy 
one,  and  Mrs.  Robbins's  death  in  1870  was  a  deep  and  enduring 
grief  to  him. 

The  sale  of  his  Maine  estates  was  a  most  fortunate  transac- 
tion, for  it  furnished  the  means  of  realizing  his  long-cherished 
wish  of  becoming  the  sole  owner  of  the  old  homestead  on 
Brush  HiU,  where  much  of  his  boyhood  had  been  passed,  and 
which  was  endeared  to  him  not  more  by  its  rare  beauty  of 
location  than  by  the  memory  of  the  large  family  circle  which 
had  gathered  about  its  hearthstone,  and  of  the  long  list  of 
guests  —  many  of  them  the  distinguished  men  of  the  time  — 
whom  his  father's  almost  lavish  hospitality  had  there  brought 
together.  This  was  his  home  during  the  remainder  of  his  Hf e. 
His  love  for  it  was  a  passion.  It  forbade  change,  which  in  his 
eyes  could  never  seem  improvement.  The  old  buildings,  the 
fences  and  walls,  were  to  remain  as  they  were  in  his  boyhood. 
The  old  trees,  many  of  them  imported  elms,  generously  planted 
by  former  generations,  —  nay,  their  very  saplings,  —  should 
be  untouched  by  the  axe  so  long  as  he  should  live ;  and  the 
fine  fringe  of  trees  which  everywhere  skirts  the  lichen-covered 
stone  walls  of  the  estate  attests  his  vigilant  guardianship.  The 
extensive  view  from  the  house,  including  the  distant  blue  of 
the  harbor,  the  twin  church  spires,  the  wooded  range  of  the 
Blue  HiUs,  and  the  broad  and  verdant  meadows,  was  always 
a  source  of  keen  enjoyment  to  him. 

Once,  however,  his  treasured  possessions  were  threatened 
by  a  great  danger,  which  roused  him  to  the  fullest  activity  in 
their  defense.  The  new  and  vigorous  town  of  Hyde  Park, 
spreading  with  the  rapid  growth  of  a  manufacturing  commu- 
nity, sought  the  authority  of  the  Legislature  to  add  to  its  terri- 
tory by  annexing  a  portion  of  Milton,  including  Mr.  Robbins's 
estate.     His  energetic  opposition  to  this  project  and  his  untir- 


314  APPENDIX 

ing  efforts  to  defeat  it  were  successful.  In  the  town  of  Milton 
he  had  been  born,  and  in  the  town  of  Milton  he  would  die. 

This  was  not  the  only  service  he  rendered  to  the  town  of 
his  birth,  for  which  his  affection  was  always  so  strong.  In 
1837  and  again  in  1861  he  represented  Milton  in  the  General 
Court,  and  in  1842  was  one  of  the  senators  from  Norfolk 
County.  He  was  frequently  caUed  to  serve  upon  committees 
whenever  the  interests  of  the  town  were  involved  or  impor- 
tant action  was  to  be  taken,  and  his  judgment  was  always 
considered  to  carry  much  weight  and  influence.  Originally  a 
Whig,  he  joined  the  Republican  party  at  its  formation,  and 
thereafter  consistently  acted  with  it,  although  not  without  criti- 
cism of  some  of  its  most  important  tendencies  and  measures. 
His  wife  had  long  shared  the  opinions  and  counsels  of  the  anti- 
slavery  leaders ;  and  in  him  was  awakened  a  sense  of  indignant 
resentment  by  the  assault  upon  Charles  Sumner  in  the  Senate 
chamber.  In  the  demonstration  made  by  the  citizens  of  Bos- 
ton upon  Mr.  Sumner's  return,  Mr.  Robbins  bore  a  prominent 
part. 

While  a  young  man  he  developed  a  strong  taste  for  histori- 
cal and  antiquarian  research,  and  throughout  life  this  taste 
directed  much  of  his  reading  and  thought.  He  made  a  careful 
and  leisurely  exploration  of  Dorsetshii'e,  England,  whence  came 
so  many  of  the  first  settlers  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  made 
his  mind  a  storehouse  of  accurate  information  touching  the 
families  and  events  which  had  illustrated  the  early  history  of 
the  New  England  town  of  Dorchester.  When  this  history  was 
written  in  1859,  he  was  the  author  of  the  first  six  chapters.  In 
1862  he  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  town  of  Milton  to  de- 
liver the  address  at  the  celebration  of  its  two  hundredth  year. 
In  this  address  he  traces  in  much  detail  the  lives  of  the  promi- 
nent early  and  later  inhabitants  of  the  town,  giving  abundant 
proof  of  his  wide  information  regarding  family  history,  and  of 
his  patience  in  research  and  exactness  in  statement.  By  vote 
of  the  town  in  1883  he  was  made  chairman  of  a  committee  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  a  history  of  Milton,  and  to  him  were  referred 
the  early  pages  of  this  work  for  correction  and  elucidation.  In 
spite  of  his  great  age  at  this  time,  his  co-laborers  in  the  work 


APPENDIX  315 

bear  willing  testimony  to  the  extreme  value  of  the  aid  thus 
rendered.  In  1860  he  was  elected  a  Resident  Member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  in  this  association  he 
found  always  much  interest  and  enjoyment. 

But  as  the  years  went  on,  the  naturally  conservative  ten- 
dency of  Mr.  E-obbins's  mind  led  him  to  withdraw  himself  in 
great  measure  from  active  participation  in  the  affairs  of  men. 
He  praised  the  time  that  is  past,  and  looked  forward  with 
apprehension  to  the  time  that  is  to  come.  To  borrow  Mr. 
Lowell's  thought,  evolution  in  his  view  too  often  took  on  its 
lacking  initial,  and  wore  the  threatening  aspect  of  revolution. 
He  failed  to  perceive  the  logical  necessity  of  social  and  politi- 
cal change  ;  and  as  he  looked  forth  upon  the  passing  events  of 
the  time,  he  deemed  himself  gazing  upon  the  turbulence  of  the 
rapids,  just  above  the  fateful  plunge  of  the  cataract.  As  he 
could  not  stay  the  current,  he  sheltered  himself  more  and  more 
within  the  seclusion  of  his  beautiful  estate,  and  with  no  trace 
of  bitterness  or  cynicism  devoted  himself  to  the  life  of  a  country 
gentleman,  finding  pleasure  in  his  acres  and  venerable  trees, 
reading  and  studying  as  his  inclination  directed,  and  living  in 
friendly  and  helpful  intercourse  with  his  neighbors. 

His  bearing  and  manner  were  dignified  and  genial.  In  his 
old  age  his  dress  and  appearance  seemed  to  reflect  the  un- 
changing stability  and  respectable  antiquity  of  his  opinions. 
His  figure  was  sturdy  and  erect,  his  features  massive,  and  his 
smile  ready  and  pleasing.  Through  judicious  management  his 
property  was  much  increased,  and  he  left  a  large  estate. 

Until  within  two  years  of  his  death,  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty-nine  years  and  four  months,  he  retained  in  a  remark- 
able degree  his  vigor  both  of  body  and  mind.  He  died  on 
Monday,  Nov.  2,  1885,  in  the  home  he  had  loved  so  well,  and 
was  buried,  as  were  his  father  and  grandfather,  in  the  ceme- 
tery of  the  town  which  the  three  generations  had  served  and 
honored.  With  him  disappeared  the  family  name,  which  for 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  years  had  been  held  in  respect  and 
affection  by  his  fellow  townsmen. 


INDEX 


Abolitionists,  friends  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  James  Murray  Robbiris,  v., 
vi. 

Adams,  Samuel,  his  action  regard- 
ing the  Boston  Massacre,  164. 

Auchmuty,  Judge,  108. 

Banishment,  Act  of,  272. 

Barker,  Mrs.,  104. 

Barnes,  Henry,  his  attitude  in  Revo- 
lutionary matters,  174 ;  injury  of 
his  business  and  property,  175- 
179 ;  threats  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety,  181 ;  life  in  England,  259, 
264. 

Barnes,  Mrs.  Henry,  letters  from, 
118-120,  141,  142;  visits  Cam- 
bridge, 181,  182;  letters  regard- 
ing Revolutionary  affairs,  174- 
179, 186-188  ;  brief  mention,  191, 
202 ;  letters  to,  from  E.  F.,  after 
the  evacuation  of  Boston,  244- 
254;  life  in  England,  259,  260, 
264. 

Belcher  family,  252,  253. 

Bennet,  Andrew,  uncle  of  Murray, 
10 ;  Murray's  letters  to,  10,  11, 
14,  15,  17-19,  49-51 ;  wiUs  prop- 
erty to  Dorothy  Forbes  and  Eliza- 
beth Murray,  139. 

Bennet,  Mrs.  Andrew,  letters  to, 
from  Murray,  46-49,  96;  Mrs. 
Smith  visits  her,  128. 

Bennet,  Anne,  sister-in-law  of  Mur- 
ray, 70  ;  letters  to,  from  Murray, 
97,  110-112. 


Bennet,  Barbara.  See  Murray,  Bar- 
bara (Bennet). 

Bennet,  Jean,  sister-in-law  of  Mur- 
ray, 70  ;  letters  to,  from  Murray, 
70-75,  97,  110-112;  Mrs.  Smith 
visits  her,  128 ;  letter  to,  from 
Elizabeth  Murray,  134. 

Bennet,  Robert,  grandfather  of  Mur- 
ray, 8,  298,  299. 

Bennet  family,  maternal  relatives  of 
Murray,  8,  9. 

Berkeley,  Governor,  his  remark 
about  schools,    etc.,    quoted,    65, 

m. 

Blank  patents,  use  of,  in  North 
Carolina,  31,  32,  53,  54. 

Boston  Massacre,  Murray's  account 
of,  162-165. 

Boutineau,  James,  159  (note). 

Braddock's  defeat,  84,  85. 

Brown,  W.  S.,  is  involved  in  the 
quarrel  between  James  Otis  and 
John  Robinson,  159-161. 

Brunswick,  North  Carolina,  rival  of 
New  Town  (afterward  Wilming- 
ton), 21 ;  ceases  to  be  the  port  of 
entry,  51,  55-57. 

Burgoyne's  campaign,  252. 

Campbell,  Elizabeth  Murray.  See 
Inman,  Elizabeth  (Murray). 

Campbell,  Thomas,  husband  of  Eliz- 
abeth Murray,  105 ;  his  death, 
107. 

Carolinas,  the,  conditions  in,  at  time 
of  James  Murray's  going  there, 


318 


INDEX 


16-35 ;  business  and  finance,  37, 
38,  53. 

Chronicle,  the,  Tory  newspaper,  168, 
169. 

Church  services  in  North  Carolina 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  26. 

Clark,  Annie.  See  Hooper,  Annie 
(Clark). 

Clark,  Barbara  (Murray),  sister  of 
James  Murray,  12,  13 ;  accom- 
panies her  brother  to  America, 
16 ;  is  married  to  Thomas  Clark, 
38;  letters  to,  from  Murray,  13, 
14 ;  birth  of  her  son  James,  47 ; 
son  Thomas,  49,  76 ;  letters  to, 
from  Murray,  77,  78,  82,  83,  98, 
99. 

Clark,  James,  47, 82,  98,  156  (note). 

Clark,  John  Innes,  82,  98,  112,  132, 
153,  156,  183,  192,  194 ;  letter  to, 
from  Elizabeth  Inman,  260,  261 ; 
from  Murray,  272-274. 

Clark,  Thomas,  husband  of  Barbara 
Murray,  letter  to,  from  Murray, 
39-42  ;  intimate  friend  of  Mur- 
ray, 44;  sherifp  and  collector  of 
the  port,  49,  60 ;  his  death,  69. 

Clark,  Thomas,  Jr.,  49,  82,  98,  153, 
156. 

Concord,  battle  of,  182. 

Covenanters,  battle-g-round  upon 
which  they  checked  Montrose,  7. 

Dalrymple,  Colonel,  Murray's  letter 
to,  concerning  Captain  Preston, 
166,  167. 

Danforth,  Judge,  184  (note),  190, 
206. 

Davis,  Benjamin,  262. 

Deblois,  Gilbert,  anecdote  of,  108 ; 
defends  Murray  when  attacked  by 
a  mob,  161,  232. 

Deblois,  James  Smith,  anecdote  con- 
cerning his  name,  108. 

Dobbs,  Governor,  80;   friction  be- 


tween him  and  Murray,  85-91 ; 
letter  to  the  Board  of  Trade,  86, 
87. 

Don,  Lady  Mary,  letter  to,  from 
Murray,  84,  85. 

Douglas,  Lieutenant  Archibald,  44, 
47,  48,  50 ;  letter  to,  from  Mur- 
ray, 82,  83. 

Dunbar,  William,  Murray  appren- 
ticed to,  10. 

Elliot,  Mr.,  lawyer,  84. 

Ellison,   Wniiam,  Jr.,  accompanies 

Murray  to  America,  16,  24-26. 
EUison,   William,  Sr.,   17,    19,   24; 

letter  to,  from  Murray,  24-26. 
Elms  in  Boston  and  vicinity,  107, 

108. 
Ettrick  Forest,  High  SherifBship  of, 

in  the  Murray  family,  5,  296. 

F.,  E.,  letters  from,  to  Mrs.  Barnes, 
after  the  evacuation  of  Boston, 
244-254. 

Flucker  family,  183  (note). 

Forbes,  Dorothy  (Murray),  69,  76, 
77 ;  lives  with  her  aunt  in  Bos- 
ton, 97-99,  104,  110,  111 ;  corre- 
spondence between  her  and  her 
father,  95,  96,  100,  101,  113 ;  her 
marriage  to  Rev.  John  Forbes, 
117  ;  letter  to,  from  Mrs.  Barnes, 
118-120 ;  from  Mrs.  Stenhouse, 
134,  135 ;  from  her  father,  136- 
141 ;  returns  from  the  South  to 
New  England,  146;  letter  from, 
to  Mrs.  Inman,  147, 148 ;  attempts 
to  recover  her  patrimony,  156 
(note) ;  in  Boston  at  beginning 
of  the  siege,  182,  192  ;  joins  Mrs. 
Inman  at  Cambridge,  194 ;  as- 
sumes care  of  the  farm  at  Brush 
Hill,  198-200 ;  letters  from,  206, 
213  ;  letters  to,  from  her  father, 
218-220,223-228;  affairs  at  Brush 


INDEX 


319 


Hill,  memorial  in  regard  to  tlireat- 
ened  confiscation  of  Mrs.  Inman's 
property,  228-230 ;  letters  to,  from 
her  father,  230-236,  256, 257,  262- 
260,  269-271,  275-281,  284-286; 
from  William  Hooper,  237-240 ; 
from  Elizabeth  Murray,  241-244 ; 
from  her  husband,281-283;  makes 
journey  to  the  South,  283 ;  her 
character,  306. 

Forbes,  James  Grant,  146,  283,  294. 

Forbes,  John,  Jr.,  146,  283,  294; 
bond  given  to  him  by  Mrs.  In- 
man,  305,  306. 

Forbes,  Rev.  John,  husband  of  Doro- 
thy Murray,  117,  223,  224,  256; 
letter  from,  to  his  wife,  281-283. 

Forbes,  Ralph  Bennet,  149,  283, 
294 ;  bond  given  by  him  to  Mrs. 
Inman,  306. 

Frankland,  Sir  Charles  Henry,  180. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  83. 

French  and  Indian  War,  82,  83. 

Gage,  General,  174,  180,  189  (note), 
222 ;  leaves  Boston,  232,  234. 

Gordon,  INIrs.,  sister-in-law  of  Mur- 
ray, 112,  255,  277. 

Gridley,  John,  159. 

Grimke,  Mr.,  20,  34. 

HalloweU,  Benjamin,  137. 

Hallowell,  Robert,  137. 

Hancock,  John,  169,  170. 

Hazel,  James,  letter  to,  from  Mur- 
ray, 67-69. 

Hooper,  Annie  (Clark),  99, 112, 114 ; 
is  married  to  William  Hooper, 
117. 

Hooper,  John,  rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  114  ;  his  death,  116. 

Hooper,  Mrs.  John,  her  relations 
with  the  Murray  family,  214,  215, 
217,  219,  224,  233. 

Hooper,  WiUiam,  practices  law  in 


Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  114 
letter  to,  from  Murray,  115,  116 
marries    Annie    Clark,   114-117 
letter  from,  to  Mrs.  Forbes,  237, 
238. 

Howe,  General  William,  his  depar- 
ture from  Boston,  236,  237. 

Howe,  Mrs.  S.  L.,  of  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  298. 

Howe,  Sarah  Lydia  (Bobbins),  289, 
295. 

Hutchinson,  Governor  Thomas,  152, 
153,  165,  232;  letter  from,  to 
Murray,  257,  258. 

Hutchinson  family,  308. 

Immigrants  exempted  from  taxa- 
tion in  North  Carolina,  59. 

Inman,  Elizabeth  Murray,  sister  of 
James  Murray,  comes  to  America 
and  lives  with  her  brother,  39, 
47-49 ;  goes  with  him  to  Scot- 
land, 67 ;  establishes  herself  in 
business  in  Boston,  69,  103,  104; 
is  married  to  Thomas  Campbell, 

105  ;   letter  from,  to  her  brother, 

106  ;  death  of  her  husband,  107 ; 
is  married  to  James  Smith,  107- 
109 ;  plans  for  her  brother's  re- 
moval to  Boston,  113,  114;  her 
distress  in  parting  with  her  niece, 
Dorothy,  117,  118;  visits  Mrs. 
Barnes,  119,  120;  death  of  her 
husband,  120  ;  goes  to  Scotland, 
120 ;  letters  to,  from  Mrs.  Barnes, 
121, 122-124 ;  journal  of  her  jour- 
ney to  Scotland,  124-131 ;  sends 
her  nephew  and  niece  to  New 
England  to  engage  in  business, 
131 ;  letter  to,  from  her  brother 
James,  132  ;  from  Elizabeth  Mur- 
ray, 133  ;  from  Mrs.  Barnes,  141, 
142  ;  from  her  brother  John,  143- 
146 ;  from  her  brother  James, 
146,  147 ;  from  Mrs.  Forbes,  147, 


320 


mDEX 


148 ;  from  her  brother  James, 
162,  165,  169,  170;  from  Mrs. 
Barnes,  giving"  account  of  Revolu- 
tionary troubles  in  Marlborough, 
175-179 ;  her  return  to  Boston 
and  marriage  to  Ralph  Inman, 
141-143  ;  settlement  in  Cam- 
bridge, 179,  180  ;  her  defense  of 
the  place  during  the  opening  of 
the  Revolution,  183-186,  189; 
letters  from,  during  this  period, 
183-180,  190-194,  201,  202,  205- 
208,  211,  212  ;  letters  to,  186-190, 
195-198,  202-205,  209-211;  re- 
moves to  Brush  Hill,  205,  206, 
213  ;  letter  to,  from  her  brother 
James,  214 ;  letter  from,  to  Mrs. 
Inman,  215-218  ;  letter  to,  from 
her  brother  James,  221,  222 ;  re- 
mains in  Boston  after  the  evacu- 
ation, 240 ;  confiscation  of  her 
Cambridge  estate,  240 ;  her  cheer- 
fulness and  courage,  244-249  ; 
letter  to,  from  her  brother, 
256 ;  letters  from,  to  Dr.  John 
Murray,  286-288;  her  death, 
288,  289 ;  bonds  given  to  John 
and  Ralph  Forbes  by  her,  305, 
306. 

Inman,  Ralph,  marries  Elizabeth 
(Murray)  Smith,  142,  143;  his 
farm  in  Cambridge,  179,  180 ;  is 
in  Boston  when  it  is  shut  up  by 
the  British,  182  ;  letters  to  Mrs. 
Inman,  189,  197,  198,  209-211; 
letters  from  Mrs.  Inman,  190-194, 
201,  202,  205-208,  211,  212,  215- 
218;  mention  by  Murray,  219, 
220. 

Innes,  James,  settles  in  New  Town, 
North  Carolina,  35,  36 ;  joins 
North  Carolina  troops  in  Spanish 
war  of  1739,  44 ;  letter  to,  from 
Murray,  45 ;  mention  of,  46 ;  god- 
father of  James  Clark,  47  ;  com- 


mander in  the  French  and  Indian 

war,  82,  83. 
Irish  immigrants  in  North  Carolina, 

28,  31,  38. 

Johnston,  Gabriel,  Governor  of  North 
Carolina,  17 ;  his  relations  with 
Murray,  23,  30,  31,  52;  conflict 
with  the  '■  blank  patent  gintry," 
32,  33  ;  a  faithful  servant  of  the 
king,  52  ;  his  decision  in  regard 
to  tie  votes,  57,  58 ;  his  death,  85. 

Kerr,  Jean,  cousin  of  James  Murray, 

16,  49. 
Knox,  General  Henry,  183  (note). 
Knox,  Mrs.  Henry,  183  (note). 

Lexington,  battle  of,  182. 

Linzee,   Mrs.  John,   189,    190,  256, 

263. 
Lyman,  Anne  Jean  (Bobbins),  289, 

295. 

Mackay,  General  Alexander,  140, 
158. 

Mackay  family,  104,  105. 

Malcolm,  Robert,  15  ;  letter  to, 
from  Murray,  15. 

MaxweU,  Captain,  242,  243. 

McCuUoh,  Henry,  "  His  Majesty's 
Surveyor  .  .  .  ,"  28,  29;  letters 
to,  from  Murray,  30-36,  54,  55, 
61-66 ;  occupies  Murray's  house 
in  Wilmington,  49. 

McNeil,  BeU,  99. 

Mein,  John,  attacked  by  mob,  168, 
109  ;  his  establishment  placed  un- 
der attachment,  169  ;  letters  from, 
to  Murray,  170-172 ;  Murray's  as- 
sistance of,  173,  174. 

Mifflin,  General,  183  ;  letter  from, 
to  Mrs.  Forbes,  227,  228. 

Moore,  Roger,  his  relations  with 
Murray,  22,  29 ;  his  attitiide  to- 


INDEX 


321 


; 


wards  immigration,  31 ;  displea- 
sure at  removal  of  port  of  entry  to 
New  Town,  51 ;  disputes  over  land 
patents,  55. 

Moore  family,  of  Brunswick,  North 
CaroHna,  21,  22,  32. 

Moseley ,  Edward,  of  North  Carolina, 
22. 

Miirray,  Mrs.,  formerly  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son, second  wife  of  James  Murray, 
112,  113,  121,  122,  137,  140,  179. 

Murray,  Anne.  See  Powell,  Anne 
(Murray). 

Murray,  Anne  (Bennet),  mother  of 
James,  2,  3 ;  removes  with  her 
family  to  Hawick,  16  ;  her  death, 
38. 

Murray,  Barbara.  See  Clark,  Bar- 
bara (Murray). 

Murray,  Barbara  (Bennet),  wife  of 
James,  9,  49,  51 ;  her  marriage, 
67,  69 ;  stays  for  a  while  in  Bos- 
ton with  Elizabeth  Murray,  69, 
104 ;  joins  her  husband  in  North 
Carolina,  75  ;  her  health,  84,  94 ; 
her  death,  94-96. 

Murray,  Betsy,  daughter  of  James. 
See  Bobbins,  Elizabeth  (Murray). 

Murray,  Dorotliy ,  daughter  of  James. 
See  Forbes,  Dorothy  (Murray). 

Murray,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
James.  See  Bobbins,  Elizabeth 
(Murray). 

Murray,  Elizabeth,  sister  of  James. 
See  Inraan,  Elizabeth  (Murray). 

Murray,  James,  correspondence  be- 
tween him  and  his  grandson,  James 
Murray  Bobbins,  preserved  at  Mil- 
ton, Mass.,  vi.,  vii. ;  portraits  of, 
mentioned,  viii. ;  birthplace  and 
early  home  of,  1,  2  ;  his  brothers 
and  sisters,  2  ;  early  life,  8,  9  ;  ap- 
prenticeship to  William  Dunbar, 
10  ;  his  plans  for  his  brothers  and 
sisters,  11-15 ;  goes  to  America, 


16-20;  early  experiences  in  the 
Carolinas,  20-28  ;  purchases  laud 
in  New  Town,  North  Carolina,  29 ; 
is  appointed  collector  of  the  port, 
29,  31,  32,  33, 34 ;  mercantUe  busi- 
ness, 33-35,  37, 38 ;  makes  journey 
to  Scotland  to  settle  his  mother's 
estate,  39 ;  brings  with  him  to 
America  his  brother  William  and 
sister  Elizabeth,  39  ;  imports  large 
cargo  of  goods,  40,  41 ;  goes  again 
to  Scotland,  50  ;  becomes  engaged 
to  his  cousin  Barbara,  51 ;  dis- 
pleasure of  Roger  Moore  and  oth- 
ers at  his  appointment  as  collector 
of  the  port,  51,  52  ;  is  drawn  into 
political  life,  52,  54 ;  member  of 
the  Board  of  Councillors,  52,  56  ; 
although  public-spirited,  never  a 
true  American,  65  ;  interested  in 
establishment  of  schools,  65-67 ; 
goes  to  Scotland  in  1744,  67;  is 
married  to  Barbara  Bennet,  69  ; 
daughter  Dorothy  born  in  London, 
69 ;  returns  to  America  in  1749, 
69 ;  leaves  wife  and  child  in  Bos- 
ton, 69  ;  narrowly  escapes  ship- 
wreck, 71-75  ;  is  joined  by  Mrs. 
Murray,  75  ;  settles  upon  a  planta- 
tion which  he  calls  Point  Repose, 
75-77  ;  names  of  his  children,  77  ; 
his  views  on  industrial  and  finan- 
cial conditions,  78-80 ;  on  union 
of  the  colonies,  83  ;  his  disagree- 
ment with  Governor  Dobbs  and 
suspension  from  office,  reinstate- 
ment, 85-94 ;  death  of  his  wife 
and  two  children,  94-98 ;  visits 
Boston,  109-115  ;  his  opinion  of 
New  England,  111 ;  his  marriage 
to  Mrs.  Thompson,  112,  113  ;  re- 
moves to  Boston,  114  ;  his  care  for 
the  Hooper  family,  116,  117;  set- 
tles at  Brush  Hill,  120 ;  makes  a 
journey  to  England,  136-141 ;  to 


322 


INDEX 


the  South,  146,  147;  his  loyalist 
principles,  150-153;  ruin  of  his 
sugar  business,  153,  155 ;  his  atti- 
tude on  Revolutionary  questions, 
156-158,  162-170,  172-174 ;  is  at- 
tacked by  a  mob,  158-161 ;  is  ap- 
pointed inspector  of  the  port  of 
Salem,  180  ;  letter  to,  from  his 
daug-hter  Dorothy,  199 ;  sails  for 
Halifax  with  General  Howe,  237  ; 
life  in  exile,  255-286 ;  letter  from 
Governor  Hutchinson,  257,  258; 
visits  New  York,  Newport,  and 
Philadelphia,  255  ;  plans  for  visit- 
ing the  South,  280  ;  for  beginning 
life  anew  in  His  Majesty's  Pro- 
vince of  Maine,  283 ;  his  death, 
286. 

Murray,  Sir  James,  son  of  Sir  John, 
7. 

Murray,  Jean,  daughter  of  James, 
77,  95,  96. 

Murray,  John,  brother  of  James, 
plans  for  his  education,  11,  12 ; 
surgeon's  mate  on  the  TQbury,  44, 
45  ;  letters  to,  from  his  brother, 
45,  46,  92,  93  ;  brief  mention,  50  ; 
82;  his  circumstances,  99;  his  mar- 
riage and  residences,  101  ;  letters 
to,  101,  102, 105, 112  ;  his  business 
and  family,  139 ;  letter  from,  to 
Mrs.  Inman,  143-146  ;  letters  to, 
from  his  brother,  152-157  ;  writes 
pamphlet  "  On  the  Gradual  Aboli- 
tion of  Slavery,"  157  ;  brief  men- 
tion, 264  ;  his  children  in  America, 
287,  288 ;  his  opinion  on  English 
affairs  in  1783,  289  ;  biographical 
notice  of,  from  History  of  Norfolk, 
299-301 ;  account  of  his  death  and 
burial,  by  his  daughter,  301-305. 

Murray,  John,  cousin  of  James,  let- 
ter to,  from  James,  36-38. 

Murray,  John,  father  of  James,  3,  7, 
8,9. 


Murray,  John, nephew  of  James,  goes 
to  America,  131, 132,  183  ;  thinks 
of  joining  the  Anaerican  army, 
260,  262;  letter  to,  from  Eliza- 
beth Inman,  261. 

Murray,  John,  of  Bowhill,  7. 

Murray,  John,  of  Falahill,  "The 
Outlaw,"  4-7,  295-297. 

Murray,  Sir  John,  2d,  7. 

Murray,  Sir  John,  the  first  desig- 
nated as  "  of  Philiphaugh,"  7. 

Murray,  Sir  John,  of  Philiphaugh, 
uncle  of  James,  10 ;  letters  to, 
from  his  nephew,  10,  75-77,  92- 
94,  109,  110. 

Murray,  Mary,  cousin  of  James,  9. 

Murray,  Mary,  niece  of  James,  goes 
to  America,  131,  132  ;  returns  to 
England,  183,  220,  263,  285 ;  let- 
ter from,  to  Mrs.  Barnes,  301-305. 

Murray,  Mary,  wife  of  Dr.  John, 
300,  301. 

Murray,  Polly.  See  Murray,  Mary, 
niece  of  James. 

Murray,  Thomas  Archibald,  son  of 
Dr.  John,  301. 

Murray,  William,  brother  of  James, 
comes  to  America,  39 ;  enters  mili- 
tary life,  44,  45, 47,  48 ;  brief  men- 
tion, 50,  139. 

Murray  family,  ancestors  of  James 
Murray,  3-7  ;  genealogy,  292-298. 

Murray's  barracks,  158,  165,  166, 
230. 

Negroes  in  the  Carolinas,  89, 41,  67- 
69. 

"New  Liverpool,"  North  Carolina. 
See  Wilmington. 

New  Town,  North  Carolina.  See 
Wilmington. 

Newark  Castle,  6. 

North  Carolina,  land  troubles,  32, 
33  ;  business  and  financial  condi- 
tions, 37,  38  ;  quit-rent  law,  52- 


INDEX 


323 


54 ;  affairs  in  the  Assembly,  58- 
60. 

Oglethorpe,  General,  his  expedition 
against  St.  Augustine,  44. 

Oswald,  Richard,  &  Co.,  letters  to, 
from  Murray,  78-80,  81. 

Otis,  James,  is  assaulted  by  John 
Robinson,  159,  160. 

Paddock  Elms,  108,  155. 

Philiphaugh,  description  of,  6,  7. 

Point  Repose,  Murray's  North  Caro- 
lina plantation,  75,  156  (note). 

Porter,  John,  letter  to,  from  Mur- 
ray, 42. 

Powell,  Anne  (Murray),  niece  of 
Murray,  goes  to  America,  136, 183; 
is  married  to  William  Dummer 
Powell,  220-222,  223 ;  returns  to 
England,  223,  234,  263  ;  comes  to 
Canada,  276. 

Preston,  Captain,  his  part  in  the 
Boston  Massacre,  163-168,  178. 

Pringle,  Lieutenant  William,  44, 47, 
48,  50. 

Putnam,  General,  187. 

Putnam,  Daniel,  son  of  General 
Putnam,  befriends  Mrs.  Barnes 
and  ]Mrs.  Inman,  187,  188,  213. 

Quincy,  Edmund,  102,  103. 
Quit-rent   law   in    North   Carolina, 
52-55. 

Revere,  Mary  (Robbms),  289,  290, 
295. 

Revolution,  The  American,  early  in- 
dications of,  114,  122,  132,  137; 
the  Stamp  Act,  150,  151 ;  Mur- 
ray's opinion  on  the  situation, 
156,  157 ;  "  Sam  Adams's  two 
regiments,"  158;  the  Boston  Mas- 
sacre, 162-168 ;  mobs  and  confis- 
cation of  imported  goods,  168-170, 


175-179  conditions  about  Boston 
and  Cambridge,  180-212;  battle 
of  Bunker  Hill,  213 ;  scheme  for 
burning  Boston,  221,  222  ;  senti- 
ment in  England,  222 ;  Gage's 
recall,  232 ;  winter  of  1775-76, 
234 ;  fortification  of  Dorchester 
Heights  and  evacuation  of  Bos- 
ton, 236,  237 ;  conditions  in  Bos- 
ton and  vicinity  after  the  evacua- 
tion, 241-249. 

Robbins,  Anne  Jean.  See  Lyman, 
Anne  Jean  (Robbins). 

Robbins,  Catherine,  289,  295. 

Robbins,  Edward  Hutchinson,  hus- 
band of  Elizabeth  Murray,  108, 
289. 

Robbins,  Edward  Hutchinson,  Jr., 
289,  295. 

Robbins,  Eliza,  289,  295. 

Robbins,  Elizabeth  (Murray),  77,  97, 
99, 106,  111,  112  ;  accompanies  her 
aunt  to  Scotland,  120-131  ;  at- 
tends boarding-school  in  Edin- 
burgh, 133;  letters  from,  133, 
134,  183  ;  life  in  Brush  Hill  and 
Boston,  221,  223,  225,  226 ;  let- 
ters to,  from  her  father,  223-225, 
230-236;  letter  from,  to  Mrs. 
Forbes,  241-244;  at  Cambridge 
after  evacuation  of  Boston,  245, 
247;  letters  to,  from  her  father, 
256,  262-266,  269-271,  275-281, 
284-286  ;  letter  to  her  father, 
267-269 ;  is  married  to  Edward 
Hutchinson  Robbins,  289 ;  her 
children,  289,  295. 

Robbins,  Frances  Mary  (Harris), 
wife  of  James  Murray  Robbins, 
v.,  313. 

Robbins,  James  Murray,  v.,  vi.,  289, 
294,  295  ;  biographical  notice  of, 
by  Roger  Wolcott,  307-315. 

Robbins,  Mary.  See  Revere,  Mary 
(Robbins),  289. 


324 


INDEX 


Robbins,  Sarah  Lydia.  See  Howe, 
Sarah  Lydia  (Robbins). 

Robbins  family,  307-315. 

Robinson,  John,  assaults  James  Otis, 
159,  160. 

Rugg-les,  Timothy,  137. 

Rutherford,  James,  letter  to,  from 
Murray,  42-44. 

Rutherford,  John,  settles  in  Amer- 
ica, 42,  43,  49 ;  makes  journey  to 
Scotland  with  Murray,  50  ;  is  ap- 
pointed receiver-general  of  North 
Carolina,  76  ;  letter  to,  from  Mur- 
ray, 83, 84  ;  suspension  from  office 
of  receiver-general  and  reinstate- 
ment, 85-92. 

Sang,  the,  of  the  Outlaw  Murray, 

5,  6,  295-298. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  his  remarks  upon 
"  the  sang  of  the  Outlaw  Murray," 
295-297. 

Silk-making  in  North  Carolina,  81. 

Simpson,  Sampson,  letter  to,  from 
Murray,  80,  81. 

Slavery,  sentiment  against,  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, 157,  158. 

Small-pox  in  Boston,  230,  231,  252. 

Smith,  Elizabeth  (Murray).  See  In- 
man,  Elizabeth  (Murray). 

Smith,  James,  sugar  baker  in  Bos- 
ton, 107;  imports  and  sets  out 
Dutch  elms,  107,  108;  marries 
Elizabeth  (Murray)  Campbell, 
108,  109;  Mrs.  Barnes's  prayer 
for,  119  ;  his  death,  120. 

Smith's  barracks.  See  Murray's  bar- 
racks. 

Sons  of  Liberty,  122,  132,  161, 162. 

Spanish  war  of  1739,  North  Caro- 
lina's participation  in,  44. 


Stamp  Act,  115,  116,  150, 151, 154, 

155. 
.Stenhouse,   Helen,   letter  from,  to 

Mrs.  Forbes,  134,  135. 
Stewart,   Charles,    letter    to,   from 

Murray,   172-174 ;    letters  from, 

265. 
Swiss  immigrants  in  North  Carolina, 

28,  34-36,  38. 

Temple,  Mr.,  letter  to,  from  Mrs. 
Inman,  185,  186. 

Temple  family,  247. 

Thompson,  Mrs.  See  Murray,  Mrs., 
second  wife  of  James  Murray. 

Tories,  reasons  for  their  position, 
152,  153. 

Tullideph,  David,  17, 19,  23,  31,  let- 
ters to,  from  Murray,  27-29. 

Unthank,  Roxburghshire,  Scotland, 
early  home  of  Murray,  1,  2. 

Wallace,  John,  letter  to,  from  Mur- 
ray, 81. 

Walter,  Nathaniel,  219,  220. 

Washington,  George,  215. 

Whitefield,  George,  visits  North 
Carolina,  65  ;  letter  to,  from  Mur- 
ray, 66. 

Wigs,  small  demand  for,  in  North 
Carolina,  22,  23,  25. 

Wilmington,  North  Carolina  (first 
called  New  Town),  rival  of  Bruns- 
wick, 21 ;  is  made  the  port  of 
entry,  51,  55-57. 

Winslow,  General,  sets  out  for  Crown 
Point,  106. 

Wolcott,  Roger,  his  biographical 
notice  of  James  Murray  Robbins, 
307-315. 


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